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"The Lexus and the Olive tree", a book review Defining the System Friedman describes Globalization as: …is not static, but a dynamic ongoing process: globalization involves the inexorable integration of markets, nation-states, and technologies to a degree never witnessed before--in a way that is enabling individuals, corporations, and nation-states to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper than ever before, and in a way that is also producing a powerful backlash from those brutalized or left behind by this new system. (Friedman 1999:9) I would describe globalization as the adoption of American culture, economic, and political practices in order to create a global all-encompassing free market economy. I say America , because America is a 225-year-old model of capitalism and is currently the best at it in the world and is the last remaining super power. The world is striving to become more Americanized because, no one is quite sure what makes America so great. Therefore, they try to incorporate as much of America as possible into their own government, culture, and economy. The reason globalization is an important idea to understand, is there are many people such as Osma bin Laden so upset about globalization, that they are willing to destroy the world rather then to see globalization continue. It is my intention to explain their frustrations. The Backlash The “Backlash” is a term used by Friedman to describe those who are against globalization and are working to stop or slow it. They are your downtrodden, has beens, and those who tried globalization, but were hurt so badly by it they want to stop it now. These people feel backed into corner with no way out, and just like an animal their first instinct has been to lash out. There are many good macro arguments against globalization. Globalization is increasing economic stratification at a tremendous rate. Corporations seem to be taking advantage of countries with little environmental law leaving their lands destroyed by pollution. The increasing power of foreign policy over domestic policy, makes the layman feel powerless next to all that corporate money. Finally, many feel it would just be too painful to raise their country up to the standards of globalization. There are some good arguments on the individual level as well. As globalization takes hold, the jobs that are not downsized now require a renaissance man to perform. Then once you have the job, you have to constantly work on upgrading your skills or risk being downsized again. Even if you work your hardest to keep up with the newest thing, it is still more likely then not, that you will have several careers over the course of your life. For the older individuals they are being asked to abandon a system that has been comfortable to them for decades and replace it with instability and uncertainty. The Groundswell In the next chapter of the book, Friedman tries to explain why the backlash will fail and makes arguments defending globalization. The first premise of his argument seems to be, people want to be a part of globalization, if given the choice and that they are willing to get up to speed. He then argues that people will support globalization because it is better then what came before. He specifically sites the facts that, globally the standards of living are rising faster and for more people then any time in history. More people are joining the middle class then ever before. That foreign corporations, pay more, spend more on R&D, create more jobs, and export more, then domestic companies. My opinion Although all the things Friedman says in the Groundswell are true, I believe there are greater truths. Globalization is all about moving from a labor-based economics to knowledge-based products. I see this as a fundamental difficulty for many nation-states like India . India 's greatest resource is their labor pool. Yet, we are asking them to abandon that resource and focus on knowledge-based products like technology. The problem is, while these technological products produce high paying jobs, they do not generally create a lot of them. Therefore, if India were to move to a knowledge-based economy, what would they do with all the unemployed? Because, even if you could just lower the population to the point where you had just enough people for the jobs, that would significantly lower your market demand. It is an unpleasant fact for most of the world's population that they will have to spend around 50 years of their life working for a living. Baring this in mind are people really going to be willing to endure five career changes in a lifetime. I am not sure I could; let alone someone living in destitute poverty. The bottom line is people are going to have to work very hard to make very little compared to those at the top. I think for all the good globalization can do, it does a lot worse, and I am not alone in my beliefs. Vision 2020 In fact, in India at this very moment a very real globalization debate is raging over Vision 2020. Vision 2020 is a planned, large-scale transformation away from dependence on small and medium sized, predominantly subsistence farming in the state of Andhra Pradesh in southern India , towards an agribusiness model of intensive export-orientated agriculture. The plan will encourage farmers to plant GM (genetically modified) crops… (Hines 2001:35) Vision 2020 is a global issue because the majority of the funding for this project is coming from the UK and World Bank. The UK is donating 100 million to this project making up 60% of their total aid budget to India . (Hines 2001:35) Despite this tremendous global support, there are many opponents of Vision 2020. There are about 75 million people in this Indian state. It is expected that this project will unemploy 20 million of these, that is over %25 of the state's population! The Vision 2020 plan provides no solutions for the potential problems with unemployment. There is also concern that these crops could cause long term damage to the soil and cause famine. These new crops also will require 3 million new wells in an area already dealing with a terrible drought, further diminishing the output of the remaining subsistence farmers as they have difficulty obtaining water. Lastly, even if you ignore all of these problems and justify this program purely on its investment potential, it still fails. Many experts have noted the fact that European markets are reluctant to purchase GM modified foods. Therefore, as they are the greatest market for food, this project out to be abandoned simply on the grounds it will not be profitable. Book Critique This book does an excellent job of explaining what globalization is and how it influences the world and each one of us; However, I do not think he does the anti-globalization movement justice. Overall, though it was a very informative book and I will recommend it to others. There is one significant other point I want to address though. I think the section titled “Olive Trees for the Age of Globalization” in Chapter 20, should have been left out of the book. He unnecessarily goes into great detail about where God fits in under globalization. “My own view of God, growing out of my own Jewish tradition, is different… The postbiblical view of God is that we make God present by our own choices and our own decisions… God is not in cyberspace, but He wants to be there—but only we can bring Him there by how we act there.” (Friedman 1999:469) I do not think it was appropriate for Friedman to preach his religious rationalizations for globalization. Globalization affects everyone; as such, it is up to each individual to define their own place in it, just as they do in the universe. Conclusion Globalization cannot be stopped. Those in favor of it point out the rising standards of living in every country that has plugged into globalization. Opponents point to the, the widening economic stratification. I think globalization really is the Americanization of the world. The problem is, people know we are not perfect, we have unemployment, and we have our own homeless and those truly poor. This makes many respond to globalization with “Your system is not much better then mine, so why don't you let me choose”. Nevertheless, the bottom line is America is and has the best there is and for all its faults, it still is the best in the world. |