The World is Flat

I'm sorry to say that I haven't exactly finished this book by T. Friedman before this entry.  I've only gotten to page 62, really, but the book provokes such a .. oh I don't know, a welling of disgust, arrogance and frustration (it becomes a sort of bile on the tip of my tongue) that I had to jot down some thoughts.

I had picked up the book because all my friends loved it.  And so did my bosses. "Sooo good," they said.  "Really great way to explain the world right now." So I bit. And now it's like being strapped to a really boring ride that I can't get out of.. like one of those kiddie rides that you thought was going to be cool until you figured that there was a reason it was categorized as a ride fit only for munchkins or people under 4 feet. In Houston, there was a ride called Excalibur, which went round and round and wound itself around a cardboard castle, never rising above 35 degrees, pretty much a bummer, but I digress...

Sigh.

Friedman has this annoying giddy voice.  Omigosh, Indian people are answering the customer hotlines, Microsoft has offices in China, and people have conferences.. on flatscreens! Globalization people!  One world! One economy! Lives are changed, efficiency --- businessmen of all ethnicities *gasp* playing golf together!  It blows. The mind. Doesn't it? We can all communicate!

He takes the simplest anecdotes, usually by name or event dropping (e.g. "Well, one day, when I was with Secretary of State James Baker at the Berlin Wall...") and standardizes that into a global phenomenon.

It's as if everything thing works according to a Cisco's executive's opinion.  This is like asking civil engineers about the wonders of modern highways -- Self-congratulations all around every time.

It's not enough that Friedman simplifies – he simplifies because he thinks his audience doesn't get complex ideas.  I'm tempted to say that this book was written for soccer moms who think they grasp geo-political and global economic ideas in between cleaning diapers and buying extra paper towels at the Costco... but looking at all the praises that have come in.. well, this book was also written for managers and middle management in white collar jobs who, in lunch breaks and their 2 hour down time each night pick up an easy to read abstract that supports their beliefs...

The world revolves around the free enterprise system.  The audience of this book already believes that everyone thinks like them -- namely that democracy = good, companies = good, making $ = worthwhile goal in life, efficiency = good, competition = good.  Friedman is writing to believers, believers who needs additional emphasis and not differing opinions to feel better about themselves.

I offer an example.

Here's Friedman explaining why the web browsers by Netscape was so important (it allowed people to communicate [duh!], and when people communicate faster, ideas grow, and when ideas grow, more efficiency, and wham bam thank you ma'am.. flat world!):

Looking back, what enabled Netscape to take off was the existence from the earlier phase, of millions of PCs, many already equipped with modems [wow, Tom.. great insight there].  Those are the shoulders Netscape stood on.  What Netscape did was bring a new killer app -- the browser -- to this installed base of PCs, making the computer and its connectivity inherently more useful for millions of people. - page 62, The World is Flat.

Ahhrrrgh! Besides stating the obvious and addressing us as 5 year olds, Friedman uses a cliche to make his point ("standing on top of shoulders"), doing his best Dr. Evil impersonation ("We're going to use a laser.. laser on the moon.. we'll call it a 'Death Star') with  "killer app equals the browser" shtick [why did he have to qualify the browser as killer app?], and throwing in words that don't really add to the idea much besides making him sound 'intelligent', ergo "making the computer and its connectivity inherently more useful..."

I'll summarize the book (as far as I've read it):

So listen -- yes I'm talking to you wannabes in your almost corner offices, while I was playing golf with a buddy of mine who is a CEO at a very important company, he said that "the playing field was leveled" and I thought... hmmm.. leveled, leveled? Level as in flat? What a great idea! The world is round, but maybe it's flat! And why is it flat? Because technology allows people to break free from geographical constraints, and now it's like we don't need to physically traverse the round world to make $ anymore, we can sit back and teleconference over the flat world!

But why is the word flat used, you may ask, aside from the fact that it's a convenient although somewhat inaccurate metaphor?  Well, because a friend of Mr. Friedman, using a very very uncommon business jargon, said the "playing field was leveled" and that got Tom to thinking... level... level? Is he saying flat... ? I think I've already gone over this.

Is the picture really that sunny, as described by globalization adherents, corporate junkies, and techies?  Well, I have some ideas percolating:

• Not everyone is interested in maximizing efficiencies at the cost of severe inequalities
• States, nationalism and religious zeal still accounts for a lot, especially in light of energy policies
• Not everything can be outsourced
• Free market economies are not always the best policy for a given population

Sigh. I can't put this book down.  The world is flat.  My soda is flat. And your ass, too.

I've thought about reading at other people's suggestions but thought the title was a little flat (as in uninteresting). Sounds from your review that he is reducing the world to an uninteresting experience as well!

Your review was quite fun to read even if the book reviewed isn't. Now I have to see if I can find your review on Wicked. I keep almost buying it but haven't quite brought myself to do so yet.

Posted by: arulba | May 04, 2006 at 10:30 AM

I think Friedman is useful to get one extreme POV about the world. In his The Lexus & the Olive Tree book, he uses the same line of reasoning to praise the tech bubble and 'innovative' companies like Enron...

This extreme thinking is part of the problem -- uncurbed enthusiasm, just like extreme economic growth or extreme spirituality, has its human costs. My reaction to this book can't help but say, "Woa, slow down there fella... let's think all this through, ok?"

I thought Wicked was built on a very novel premise that almost delivers, but not quite... the key to the book was to maintain a balance between the fantastical and the normal, pegged on the 'Wicked Witch' character. Maguire succeeds in the beginning but overall.. well, it's a really hard thing to pull off for the entire novel -- but you should check it out!

Posted by: j.fisher | May 04, 2006 at 07:20 PM

astroworld is a completely flat patch of dirt now. it looks like they're about to plant the next batch of crops. i'll take a picture for you.

Posted by: kyle | May 14, 2006 at 10:10 PM