The World is Flat

I recently read a book on son Michael's shelves entitled The World is Flat. It offered a compelling argument that the adoption of free market economies by China, India, and a larger number of third-world countries, plus technology levelers such as global broadband capacity and the internet have essentially expanded the American economy to every corner of the world.

While this is good for the planet, the effect on the American worker is unsettling. The author, Thomas Friedman, makes several interesting points. He argues that the American worker is no longer competing against co-workers he can see, but against people in China and India. Further, Mr. Friedman speaks of two gaps which I believe are factual: the education gap and the ambition gap.

The education gap is defined by our deterioration in math and the sciences. We are producing athletes, communications majors, lawyers, and financial specialists, and not enough technical know-how. The ambition gap is exemplified in the Chinese saying "family wealth never makes it past the third generation". He claims with some credibility that America is in its' third generation from the country's scientific zenith achieved with the space program of the 60s, and that Chinese and Indian students are far more motivated to achieve in more challenging fields while American youth are more engaged with sports and online gaming.

I disagreed with the author on several points. After giving credit to capitalism for the ascendancy of the global economy, his solutions for America's response are decidely socialistic. He also fails to address certain security, theft, and turnover issues which have occurred in multinational teaming situations.

All in all, it makes one think about maximizing their individual potential, and that's a positive result from the book.