Thomas L. Friedman's "The Lexus and the Olive Tree"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Thomas L. Friedman's interesting title for his book "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" was taken from two conflicting concepts: The Lexus represents globalization; whereas, the olive tree represents culture, traditions and community. The author points out that Friedman believes that this relationship must be in balance because too much globalization can pose a great threat to the integrity of the olive tree and too much protection given to the olive tree may hinder the development promised by globalization. The paper states that Friedman argues that globalization is not, and cannot be, regulated because there is no one regulating it. The author stresses that globalization was perceived by Friedman as beneficial not only to the electronic herd, which is the millions of investors moving money around the world with a click of a mouse, but also to the average blue-collar worker.

From the Paper:

"The problem with this, though, as explained by Stiglitz, is that, in industrialized countries, the pain of layoffs is acknowledged and somewhat ameliorated by the safety net of unemployment insurance, but in less developed countries it is a different case--the unemployed workers typically do not become a public charge because there are seldom insurance schemes there. Globalization has not worked for millions of people. Many have actually been made worse off, as they have seen their jobs destroyed and their lives become more insecure."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Huntington, S., 1996, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, Simon & Schuster, New York.
• Friedman, T., 2000, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Anchor Books, New York.
• Stiglitz, J., 2002, Globalization and Its Discontents, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York.

More papers on Thomas L. Friedman's "The Lexus and the Olive Tree":

• Essay # 52256 : "Globalization and "The Lexus and the Olive Tree"
• Analytical Essay # 38929 : "The Lexus and the Olive Tree":"
• Analytical Essay # 73285 : "Analysis Of "The Lexus And The Olive Tree"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: