©2000 Friends of Olga BonfiglioAll Rights Reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced, in part or in whole,
by any means, without the express written consent of Friends of Olga Bonfiglio. Site Design by
Twilight Media
and Design |
|
Bonfiglio reviews . . .
The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization
(by Thomas Friedman)
Before he became a columnist, Thomas Friedman was a foreign correspondent for The New York Times. He became an expert on the international politics of the
Cold War era. But, as he explains, his job began to change after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Soon after the Wall fell, the world embarked on a new era of globalization. (There have been such eras before, he
points out.) As a result, Friedman says, so intertwined have things become that he can no longer separate the national news from the international news. In fact, he thinks of the world we are now living in as just 10
years old. The end of the Cold War changed the world from one that was divided into one that's now global. The world used to be defined by who was communist and who was capitalist. Now, the world is defined by global
markets, and everybody is a capitalist. Modern communications technology that has been around for a generation—satellites, telecommunications, and the internet—now connect everyone whether they want to be connected or
not. Power politics has become muted because a certain amount of cooperation must exist in order for these complex and extensive networks to operate. Globalization is not just a phenomenon or a passing trend. It is a
highly complex and interconnected international system that has replaced the bipolar Cold War system. This book explains where we have been and where we are going as a global society. The industrial era of the past
provided well-defined boundaries between communities, companies, nation-states, markets, and peoples. The new era of globalization breaks down all of these boundaries and shapes our lives by integrating technology,
finance, and information into a single global market. As a result, globalization has created a system that is shaped by superpowers, supermarkets, and super-empowered individuals. In other words, national governments
are no longer the key players. And, corporations no longer control markets. Instead, Friedman says, the world is run by what he calls the "Electronic Herd," a cadre of faceless traders, bankers,
speculators, and even individual investors (if they have an internet brokerage account) who quickly move vast sums of money around the world with the touch of a button. Increasingly, to operate outside the herd is to be
irrelevant, ineffectual, and powerless. To run with the herd is to embrace what Friedman calls the "golden straitjacket." It's a loose set of standards for government fiscal and monetary policy, business
conduct, and financial and business regulation which the herd regards as necessary to a successful economy. Violate the rules, and the herd may suddenly stampede out of your country taking their money with them. This is
precisely what happened in Asia in 1998, and that stampede almost caused a worldwide financial meltdown. This instability is part and parcel of our new global system. It constantly creates its own rules, products, and
alliances. Left in its wake are corporate mergers and downsizings, weakened national governments, and uncertainty due to a lack of permanence. How did we get here? Friedman writes that the democratizations
of technology, finance and information—which have changed how we communicate, how we invest and how we look at the world—gave birth to all the key elements in today's globalization system. They are what blew away the
walls. They are what created the networks which enable each of us now to reach around the world and become Super-empowered individuals. They are what created the links and the space for the Electronic Herd and the
Supermarkets to really emerge. They are what blew away all the old ideologies, other than free-market capitalism. They are what created the incredible new efficiencies that every business either has to adapt to or die.
They are what lowered the barriers to entry into virtually every business. They are what is forcing people to change from thinking locally first and then globally, to thinking globally first and then locally....The
Internet will ensure that how we communicate, how we invest and how we look at the world will be increasingly global. (pp. 116-117)
As confusing and uncertain as globalization is, Friedman says, it is also
forcing into place some of the building blocks of democracy: transparency of governmental activities; standardization of business practices, language (English), and currency (the Euro); a greater need for peace
throughout the world so that business can be conducted in an orderly manner; the decline of governmental corruption because people will not invest in countries that are unpredictable; and freedom of the press (even in
places like China). But, globalization has also created a major conflict for people all over the world: how to embrace this new system of technology, finance, and information (the Lexus) as it challenges the ancient
forces of culture, geography, tradition, and community (the Olive Tree). Globalization is brutal, but Friedman contends that citizens can exercise their will, not only over their own governments but over at least some
of the global forces shaping their lives. [M]arket forces and institutions are ethically indifferent. They require a deliberative, communal intelligence to prevent extreme injustices [says Yaron Ezrahi,
Israeli political theorist]. That deliberative role is the essence of citizenship and democratic governance—guarding and shaping the public space and collective life. And you really have a problem if your public space
and collective life are being shaped by forces beyond your own politics. (p. 162). This book is essential reading for citizens involved in rebuilding and redefining their communities in this era of
globalization because it provides a working background of what local communities must deal with as members of a global society. |
Bonfiglio Brief:"This book is essential reading for citizens involved in rebuilding and redefining their
communities in this era of globalization because it provides a working background of what local communities must deal with as members of a global society." |
