If the concept is new to you, or even if you have read it before, I suggest you read the book “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman. It’s such a fantastic book that was written so ahead of it’s time. For me, i’m reading the book for a 3rd time and it’s nice to read it and be reminded of where the Internet economy is and is headed.
Here is a Keynote that author Thomas Friedman gave at MIT on November 28, 2007. It covers of course the many topics that Thomas covers in his book “The World Is Flat”. It serves as a friendly reminder of the power the Internet has in flattening the world. With emphasis of course on Open Source! There are many topics or what Friedman calls “Flatteners”. The most important in my opinion being Open Source Software and Information! Enjoy the video. It’s 48 minutes long. Worth every minute.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcE2ufqtzyk[/youtube]
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It always helps to have a counterprespective on an issue and I would suggest you read a book by Aronica and Ramdoo, which offers a different point of view on globalization.
Also, Joseph Stiglitz (Nobel winner for economics and was Chief Economist at World Bank) said while on a trip to India, that 600 million people from India (out of the one billion!) have been left out of the “development†fold of globalization. So, obviously, all India is not going to migrate into middle class, if anything the inequality is far, far worse now, after the advent of globalization.
Similarly newspaper reports have pointed out how Chinese workers are working in apalling conditions, to churn out the low cost products, with poor pay, cramped rooms, no accident or health insurance benefits, no job security, no overtime, long working hours – so who is actaully benefiting from this sort of globalization? Corporates ofcourse, and the few privileged people of India nd China who have been able to get educated in engineering and technology! Not the vast majority of population.
Aronica and Ramdoo’s book is small and interesting and is titled, “The World is Flat? A Critical Analysis of Thomas Friedman’s New York Times Bestseller.” It is a small book compared to the 600 page tome by Friedman, and aimed at the common man and students alike. As popular as the book may be, some reviewers assert that by what it leaves out, Friedman’s book is dangerous. The authors point to the fact that there isn’t a single table or data footnote in Friedman’s entire book.
“Globalization is the greatest reorganization of the world since the Industrial Revolution,” says Aronica. Aronica and Ramdoo conclude by listing over twenty action items that point the way forward, and they provide a comprehensive, yet concise, framework for understanding the critical issues of globalization.
You may want to see http://www.mkpress.com/flat
and watch http://www.mkpress.com/flatoverview.html
for an interesting counterperspective on Friedman’s
“The World is Flat”.
Also a really interesting 6 min wake-up call: Shift Happens! http://www.mkpress.com/ShiftExtreme.html
There is also a companion book listed: Extreme Competition: Innovation and the Great 21st Century Business Reformation
http://www.mkpress.com/extreme
http://www.mkpress.com/Extreme11minWMV.html