The world is flat : a brief history of the twenty-first century

Book Review:

The World is Flat : a Brief History of the Twenty-first Century / Thomas L. Friedman.

(Available at TKO public library and the call number is 301.243 FRI)


Thomas L. Friedman是《紐約時報》專欄作家，他多年來熱衷推展全球化理念，之前他的經典著作《The Lexus and the Olive Tree》當中提出的新科技和全球化與傳統文化的拉扯，當時他認為現在的社會必定抵擋不了全球化的浪潮，必須往全球化邁進。

不過在他的最新作品《The World Is Flat》中，Friedman對於全球化有了新的思考。在9·11、伊拉克戰事之後，一趟前往印度的旅行讓他重新思考了全球化的意義，他在本書中提出了全球化的三種版本，現今則是全球化的第三個版本：因為網路的普及，主體是個人的全球化。

世界上新成員，中國和印度的崛起、新的舞台出現，因此有新的遊戲規則，如許多的產業外包至中國與印度造成的失業風潮，這些改變不遜於之前的任一革命，雖然如此Friedman仍確信，新的全球化能對個人與團體好的影響，更確信會有好的社會能改變人類的精神與物質現況。

哥倫布之後人類知道世界是圓的，本書所謂世界是平的，是回收一個過時的觀念來說明現狀，指的是政治經濟上的撤除藩籬加上科技進步所創造的溝通無礙。副標誆稱這是一部二十一世紀的簡史，事實上不是歷史，就是現在。寫過《從貝魯特到耶路撒冷》、《了解全球化：凌志汽車與橄欖樹》，紐約時報專欄作家湯瑪斯．弗里曼是新聞界最有洞見的一枝筆，他舉出了十股造成世界平坦化的重要力量，點醒讀者眼前的潮流，對一個國家、一個公司、一個社群或個人而言，到底意味著什麼？世界變得平坦，是不是迫使我們跑得更快才能擁有一席之地？平坦化的世界裡，政府組織和社會機制該如何適應？在他稱之為「全球化第3.0版」的演變中，撼動世界的不再是跨國公司或國際組織，人在新的世界運作中重新成為歷史的主角。

History of the world twenty years from now, and they come to the chapter "Y2K to March 2004," what will they say was the most crucial development? The attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 and the Iraq war? Or the convergence of technology and events that allowed India, China, and so many other countries to become part of the global supply chain for services and manufacturing, creating an explosion of wealth in the middle classes of the world's two biggest nations, giving them a huge new stake in the success of globalization? And with this "flattening" of the globe, which requires us to run faster in order to stay in place, has the world gotten too small and too fast for human beings and their political systems to adjust in a stable manner?

In this brilliant new book, the award-winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman demystifies the brave new world for readers, allowing them to make sense of the often bewildering global scene unfolding before their eyes. With his inimitable ability to translate complex foreign policy and economic issues, Friedman explains how the flattening of the world happened at the dawn of the twenty-first century; what it means to countries, companies, communities, and individuals; and how governments and societies can, and must, adapt. The World Is Flat is the timely and essential update on globalization, its successes and discontents, powerfully illuminated by one of our most respected journalists.