Quite the read

I just finished reading Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat. Great book...and I'm not just saying that because I find that many of the ideas he expresses I've touched upon in my previous blog entries. Hey...great minds think alike. AND me and Tom. Er, right?

One thing I'm sure critics will take issue with (or perhaps already have) is that he only talks to the people who already have the skill sets, education, and smarts to survive and adapt in a rapidly changing world. Makes for great success stories to illustrate his points...but it doesn't necessarily help those who don't have the resources, faculties, time, or abilities to constantly adapt. It's the reason you DO (contrary to his assertions) see a lot of moaning and groaning about "the good old days" among those left behind in such places as the former Soviet Union. To a lot of folks who were happy with a menial job if it meant surviving with some creature comforts, the harsh brutality of a constantly shifting work environment seems far more threatening.

When I look at the recent rejection of the EU Constitution by France and the Netherlands, the increasingly unlikely passage of the Central American Free Trade Area, and the growing anger toward China from both the EU and the US over recently lowered textile trade barriers, I can't help but think that, perhaps, the vision Tom sees is the minority view. Unfortunately, the majority view is often accompanied by surging nationalism and anger toward immigration and immigrants.

While people continue to discuss increasing the amount of government aid given to poor countries (a method of generating economic growth that has been historically ineffective), the idea that open markets will force a change in the comfortable lives of the rich West as it builds a base of prosperity in the Global South is too great a sacrifice. In other words, many are willing to ask their GOVERNMENT to make sacrifices (in terms of finding money within a limited budget to devote to foreign aid), but far fewer are willing to accept sacrifices themselves to support a method proven to pull others out of poverty.

Thomas Friedman
The World is Flat