From one of our most perceptive commentators and winner of
the National Book Award, a comprehensive look at the new
world of globalization, the international system that, more
than anything else, is shaping world affairs today.
As the Foreign Affairs columnist for The New York Times,
Thomas L. Friedman has traveled the globe, interviewing
people from all walks of contemporary life: Brazilian
peasants in the Amazon rain forest, new entrepreneurs in
Indonesia, Islamic students in Teheran, and the financial
wizards on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley.
Now Friedman has drawn on his years on the road to produce
an engrossing and original look at globalization.
Globalization, he argues, is not just a phenomenon and not
just a passing trend. It is the international system that
replaced the Cold War system; the new, well-greased,
interconnected system: Globalization is the integration of
capital, technology, and information across national
borders, in a way that is creating a single global market
and, to some degreee, a global village. Simply put, one
can't possibly understand the morning news or one's own
investments without some grasp of the system. Just one
example: During the Cold War, we reached for the hot line
between the White House and the Kremlin--a symbol that we
were all divided but at least the two superpowers were in
charge. In the era of globalization, we reach for the
Internet--a symbol that we are all connected but nobody is
totally in charge.
With vivid stories and a set of original terms and concepts,
Friedman offers readers remarkable access to his unique
understanding of this new world order, and shows us how to
see this new system. He dramatizes the conflict of "the
Lexus and the olive tree"--the tension between the
globalization system and ancient forces of culture,
geography, tradition, and community. He also details the
powerful backlash that globalization produces among those
who feel brutalized by it, and he spells out what we all
need to do to keep the system in balance. Finding the proper
balance between the Lexus and the olive tree is the great
drama of he globalization era, and the ultimate theme of
Friedman's challenging, provocative book--essential reading
for all who care about how the world really works.
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