The Lexus and the Olive Tree - Understanding Globalization

Whatever profession you work in, you will fall behind if you don't understand the principles that Friedman explains so well. Like From Beirut to Jerusalem, this book is extremely well-written and well-told. It's by no means an easy read, but Friedman helps us out by weaving stories from his travels around the globe and giving enough examples so that even non-technological folk will have no problem following his argument. Suddenly you'll understand why the US must be concerned with crises in other countries. No longer will we be able to say, "Well, that's not OUR problem." That kind of attitude will lead to recession and economic crisis not just in the US, but abroad as well. The interconnectedness of the world is what spurs on globabization, whether we like it or not. Once you read his stories about visiting remote Chinese villages during elections, you'll understand why we should care what happens in these far off places.
Friedman spends a good deal of time distinguishing between cold war politics and economics and post-cold war. From his explanations, even a layman can follow the drastic differences in every aspect of the economy. The reader even learns how to evaluate a country's real progress (sometimes "PC's per household" or connections per household). Although this is a ponderous books at times, Friedman's sense of humor shows through -- by the end, you'll understand why if France was a stock, he'd sell. The French take a beating for their lack of forward looking vision. This book is mandatory reading for any US citizen who wants to understand our past and future role in the rapidly expanding world.

In The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Friedman, longtime foreign affairs columnist at the New York Times, tackles the rather popular subject of globalization-the sudden fall of barriers between nation states caused by the rise of international corporations, worldwide media and computer technology.
Friedman is an unabashed enthusiast of the interconnected global economy; he more or less accepts that unfettered worldwide capitalism is a fait accompli, and suggests that those who resist it are fools or cowards.
Unfortunately, Friedman offers little new insight into this, his favorite territory, and his writing is often noticeably unperceptive.
Two other, far more insightful books written for popular (but intellectual) audiences have already tackled this subject, reached more cogent conclusions, and with far less tortured writing.
I recommend Benjamin Barber's Jihad Versus McWorld for a brilliant take on the conflict between globalization and its antithesis, fundamentalism.
And for a clear-eyed look at where the global economy is headed, read One World, Ready or Not by William Greider. The former Washington Post editor (who now writes for Rolling Stone) is a better economics correspondent than Friedman, and his writing is far superior.

1. Friedman asserts the Asian economic crisis was sparked by lack of accurate information. Now, we have _more_ information that is equally inaccurate.
A. Look at the apparent growth in Chinese production, yet their declining oil consumption. How is this possible?
B. Korean export revenues are falling faster than their import prices. How can they repay their debts?
C. Japan's debt as a percentage of GDP is greater than 130%; if you include the pension liabilities it exceeds 200%. How can they repay their debts?
2. Having more information doesn't matter. What matters is when the herd decided to pay attention to reality.
3. Friedman asserts that the herd moves money in response to information; where there is corruption, the markets run away.
A. Untrue.
B. Markets love risk and corruption. If there's a buck to be made, there's no requirement that people are ethical before they get money. Just as long as another fool will buy later.
4. The author fails to apply his insights about corruption, fraud, and lack of transparency to the US markets.
A. Applying his theory that "money leaves the corrupt society", we should have seen money leave the US markets in response to earnings management, washes, and cooking the books.
B. This hasn't happened.
5. The author does not explain why the similarly corrupt and misleading accounting practices in US markets have yielded superior returns.
A. Par for the course in Wall Street, where the SEC is undermanned and earnings don't matter.
B. GAAP says one thing, but the auditors "wink wink" the hidden reserves because they have shares in the companies they audit.
6. It would have been more useful to read what the US companies need to do to apply the lessons learned from Asia.
7. Readers are encouraged to read between the lines.
A. The problems that existed in Asia are just as prevalent in the US.
B. We believe this is a new paradigm--profitless growth, rising debt, falling margins, and the same accounting gimmicks that still exist in Asia.
C. Investing is easy; the hard part is getting back your uninsured 401K when the herd wakes up.

If there is one truth that should stay with everyone who reads Tom Friedman's book about Globalization it is that this trend is going to go forward no matter what. Countries and individuals are going to have to learn to adapt and shape themselves to it, otherwise the alternative is they will be run over like a freight train.
Globalization is a new system, a new world order, that according to Friedman began about 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell and the Cold War which had been going on since 1945 ended abruptly. In the Cold War Era countries could get away with badly run and inefficient economic systems. For example, most third world countries could count on foreign aid from either the USA or Soviet Union to buttress up shaky, inefficient economies. Europe and the United States could justify trade barriers and subsidizing inefficient sectors of their economy on the basis that it was necessary to "fight the spread of communism". In the past, foreign trade and exports were a much smaller factor in GDP.
With the collapse of communism and the birth of the information economy, inefficiency is no longer maintainable in national economies. People can overseas to other countries to get products that are badly made or too costly. Companies that make expensive and poor quality goods will be run out of business rapidly. Computers, the internet, and cell phones make it far easier to locate cheaper sources of goods and to establish trade relationships anywhere on the globe.
Some countries which are poorly suited to compete in such an economy are bound to pay dearly. The Arab world, much of Africa, and parts of South America seemed destined for extremely difficult times in attempting to adapt to such a system. Other countries such as the USA, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Great Britain and Italy have done and may continue to do surprisingly well.
Government must accept a new role in such an economy. Rather than establishing elaborate welfare schemes, it must take on the role of training workers for jobs in the new economy, eliminating trade barriers, creating the conditions for better competition, and making market information available.
It will be a trying time for many, but it cannot be avoided. It can only be shaped through public awareness.

After reading a rash of left leaning books recently that pretty much blame all of the worlds problems on free trade and globalization it was nice to read this book. This book has gotten the reputation of the "everything you need to know about globalization" book so I thought it would be nice to balance my reading. I have also read some of the authors other work and knew he was a talented author. Well let me say that it was a real pleasure to read this book. The author did not disappoint in any way what so ever. He has a firm grasp on the subject and a wonderful talent for describing complicated ideas in a Joe Average way. He hit all the high points in the free trade and globalization book of tricks and made it understandable.
The author also spent a lot of time creating titles for groups of people, companies or markets that lead the world into the new age of globalization. Given the fear some people and groups have about the one world order and other such nonsense, I was surprised that the author did not spend more time taking this group on. I also found the name dropping the author did a little annoying, ok it was nice at first but toward the end of the book I thought he was trying to prove something. Overall the book is a wonderfully written book that you will learn a great deal from.

Lexus and the olive tree is extremely well written overview of the causes and impact of globalization. It is also very flawed. Friedman is an excellent journalist - not an economist or technologist. His arguments show large holes.
For example in the first chapter he compares 1900 dollars to 1990 dollars with no inflation charges. His errors continue from there. This book reads like someone who never got beyond Economics 101 and has no grounding in basic Finance. After a few chapters I lost steam reading the book and skimmed the rest of it. If you are aware of current economic trends the book won't tell you much new.
His anecdotal stories are excellent as are his insights into the fear of globalization. He argues that people see the problems of globalization, but the benefits are hidden. Perhaps this works in the US - in other small open economies such as Taiwan or Canada people are much more aware of the benefits. JK Galbraith when asked what he thinks of globalization replied - "It is a long term trend". Underlying Friedman's argument is that globalization is new and can be stopped. It isn't and it can't.
He says has that technology has displaced more workers than globalization. But gives no proof. Near the end of the book he says - "I believe the Almighty may destroy the Internet much like he did with the Tower of Babylon". According to Schumpeter's "Creative Destruction", the job loss associated with technological change is central to the capitalist system's ability to maximize output and total wealth creation over time. Productivity increases peoples standard of living and technology is one of the main drivers of these gains.
Perhaps Friedman should focus on writing about Middle East politics and leave the economic analysis to others.

The book is Friedman�s take on globalization as he attempts to cover the topic from a vantage point as The New York Times foreign affairs columnist for nearly a decade. The New World Order according to Friedman began when the Berlin Wall fell � capitalism effectively defeated communism. The inevitable ensuing evolution is globalization � defined by Friedman as �the inexorable integration of markets, transportation systems, and communication systems to a degree never witnessed before � in a way that is enabling corporations, countries, and individuals to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper than ever before, and in a way that is enabling the world to reach into corporations, countries, and individuals farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper than ever before.�
Congruously, Friedman explores a nation�s desire to grow and enter the future, symbolized by Japan�s Lexus vehicles. The Lexus�s represent Japan�s establishment into the Modern Age, using technology and resources to improve the standard of living of its people. On the other end of that spectrum is a nation�s desire to cling to its roots and origins � a respect for where the people came from � ancestors, history, culture, etc. Friedman symbolizes this desire through the olive tree. All countries are faced with the same struggle � do we go for the Lexus or the Olive Tree. Can we go for both? How? What are the implications of tipping that balance too far in one direction?
The debate in each country around such questions has been somewhat expedited or squashed by the tsunami of globalization. Sometimes the country feels as if it doesn�t have time or a choice � �Get on board or get left behind�. What is a country to do? How does it navigate through these uncharted waters? What are the uncharted waters? Friedman explores these questions and more in this book.
It is interesting to read this book nearly four years after its publication. When it was written and published, the Internet Economy and the corresponding stock bubble was THE topic. The world was subject to all sorts of hair-brained schemes of a drastic paradigm shift in the way people will do business, live their daily lives, interact with the rest of society, etc. While change certainly has occurred at a rapid pace and no doubt will continue to do so, the overreaching claims made by titans of that time period have fallen flat � Cisco & the store (two companies often repeated in the book) valuations have dwindled dramatically while Enron is non-existent.
Friedman is correct in his overarching theories about globalization but the details have not necessarily withstood the test of even a short time. This clearly detracts from the book which otherwise makes a strong statement and delivers some insight into the ongoing struggle to balance modernity and respect for one�s past.

The Lexus and the Olive Tree is a pretty extensive explanation of just what is "globalization." But there was a lot in the way of style that I found... well, just annoying. The other reviews have already noted these things: the catchy terminology (Microchip Immune Deficiency, the Electronic Herd, The Golden Arches Theory... etc.), his op-ed writing style, his over-confidence and ego, and the simplicity of his arguments. Except for the last one, these are surface criticisms, but they affected my enjoyment of the book.
On the other hand, the material in the book is interesting enough. He discusses how the system of globalization developed from the fall of the Berlin Wall and the opening of economies. His experience in journalism is an asset he uses in recalling conversations with economists, politicial leaders, and civilians and thus personalizing the effects of this new world order. He describes the advantanges that globalism brings to all people, in developed and undeveloped countries, but is fully aware of the dangers of letting a system so powerful go uncontrolled. His basic theme is that everyone must eventually bow down to globalism because it is inevitable, but everyone must also be conscious that it can remove and dislocate people from their pasts, which can have unstable results.
I gave this book three stars because somehow, I just wasn't very satisfied. Though it covered a lot of ground and I did find it insightful in many places, especially Friedman's analysis of the Cold War system versus the post-Cold War system, the op-ed style of writing and the too many parables and metaphors made the reading a little laborious. However, if you only have a vague idea about what globalism is, and you want a better understanding of how this system affects you and everyone else in the world, then by all means, I recommend it. I do think Friedman gets the job done, but I would have liked a little more depth and substance behind his arguments.

Mr. Friedman is undoubtedly one of the best nonfiction writers around these days, and the variety of topics he's covered - from the conflict in the Middle East to globalization - is direct proof that the man is blessed with a solid talent for analysis. By no means am I an expert on things capitalistic, and globalization, notwithstanding the fact that I, along with everyone else on the planet, live in it, is a topic to which I hadn't paid too much attention in the past. This book served as a primer, and now that I've read it, I see some of its observations popping up everywhere around me; a lot of the things that are discussed in the book DO apply to the world around us. One point of contention, though: Mr. Friedman is very keen on making the United States the sole superpower in charge of driving the whole world. Now, I agree that the US has a very important role to play, and will do so for several years to come (barring any unforeseen catastrophes). But sometimes I get the feeling that Mr. Friedman might just be a little to pro-American, and, on occasion, this seems to blur his vision. While dubbed pro-globalization by the media, Mr. Friedman nevertheless warns us of the dangers of Americanization and what deleterious effects such a phenomenon has on the various cultures. An altogether interesting read, in which we all learn a lot from a superb mind. The experience, however, is, on occasion, marred by recurrent typos (a book on this topic should NEVER spell entrepreneur the wrong way, but it does!) and a few editorial oversights... All in all, this book has helped me better understand the world I live in and where we might end up a few decades down the road.

Thomas Friedman's THE LEXUS AND THE OLIVE TREE presents a rational but simplistic view of globalization. He sees a world in which national governments can no longer control the spread of information without serious economic consequences. In a sense, this book is all about the role new technologies play in altering the landscape of global politics, cultures, and economies.
Throughout the book, he argues his points using an entertaining but somewhat speculative style. He constantly refers to personal anecdotes in support of his statements. However, these often don't serve as adequate proof, nor do they sometimes even relate significantly to the argument at hand. Instead of providing hard and irrefutable evidence, Friedman instead resorts to a sort of sensationalism which seems ready-made for mass consumption.
Some of his more interesting ideas include the Golden Arches theory, which states that no two countries with McDonald's will go to war with each other. In his newly revised edition, he amends his theory to state that the costs of of going to war in a society with McDonald's will be increasingly high because of social liberalization. The main thrust of his book, however, is that technology has altered the landscape of the global market. Its power has become such that resisting change and the free market has become a sort of self-imposed death sentence. He uses what he calls an "Electronic Herd" to represent people operating under the new and ultra-efficient paradigm of global investing. These are two solid ideas that make THE LEXUS AND THE OLIVE TREE worth purchasing, although you may not be convinced by his "proof" of them.
Overall, a good book that doesn't reach the level of greatness simply because of the lack of evidence. At least three hundred pages are devoted to personal stories, which make for great reading, but unfortunately aren't the most effective method of supporting Friedman's theories of globalization.

A Japanese child lands in America and is thrilled to see the golden arches - " Even these people have McDonalds!"
Tom travels for several hours away from America and wakes up in Malaysia - He is greeted by a large image of Colonel Sanders across his hotel window.
The former Indian Prime Minister Mr. I.K. Gujral's grand daughter demands a pizza and insists on having it from Pizza Hut.
Well, the walls have disappeared and Uncle Sam is marching all over the globe; a phenomenon similar to the presence of the British Empire in the nineteenth Century. But this time it is not imperialism and not a conquest of countries for Colonization. It is a global urge to democratize Information, Technology and Finance in order to achieve higher standards of living. This is an opportunity to create AND distribute wealth across borders without walls. The inefficient are weeded out and market forces are sweeping across continents.
Individual countries or institutions no longer control the global markets. The flow of investments - both short term and long term- are a collective action of millions of investors - "The electronic herd" which is constantly looking around for promise of greener pastures. Governments who recognize this will have more transparent, efficient and honest administrations to attract and retain the herd. The herd can also desert in a stampede as we saw in East Asia in 1998.
But all the freedom, wealth and good things are not without pain and risk. On one hand we find the number of billionaires has multiplied and at the other extreme we still have over a billion people who do not earn even a dollar a day. Billions for some and billions with none. There are rising tensions not due to the arms race of the cold war, but the uncertainty over the impact of globalization. For many that are hurt in the absence of a safety net, globalization is a threat more dangerous than a real war. It is in this context that the careful management of the globalization process across diverse countries assumes significance. No other nation other than America seems to have the capability to lead the world in the new era. In the process if America becomes arrogant and irresponsible in her actions, we may once again fall back into a world of walls that inhibit freedom, innovation and a better life for all.
Apart from the economic and social implications of globalization, Thomas Friedman also takes you on a global tour, which I enjoyed thoroughly.

This review is of the audio CD (which is abridged).

The short summary - globalization is the follow-on to the cold war. Friedman maintains that the economic collapse in Asia and the fall of the Berlin wall are all manifestations of the new world rules, and it's not a coincidence they happened about the same time. He identifies several changes in economics which have made the US economy more open and democratic. The internet is a big player in these changes because it is the medium by which economic openness is communicated.

Many of Friedman's ideas I agree with, yet I felt something missing. The book's content doesn't feel complete. There is a bigger picture behind his observations, more complexity, and more depth. Much of the material I thought was over-explained where instead I would have liked more depth and insightful penetration.

Friedman tries to come up with catch phrases for his various observations. Not all of them worked for me, especially "golden strait jacket." I'm still not sure why it's a strait jacket, nor why it's golden.

In The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Thomas Friedman invites us to understand globalization as a system that imposes a type of order in the world, just as its predecessor, the cold war system, imposed order. Whereas the cold war system ordered the world by dividing it and building barriers, globalization involves integration and breaking down barriers to allow free markets to operate more efficiently.
While Friedman sees what globalization has to offer, he also sees why it has vocal detractors. Globalization is driven by the aspirations of many to improve their standards of living. These supporters see the free market ideology of globalization as offering faster improvements than the relatively corrupt and static political systems that dominate their own countries. Yet, globalization alienates many others: it takes power away from political elites, it hurts countries and individuals that cannot adapt quickly to market demands, and it contributes to a homogenization of culture.
Friedman makes prescriptions to reduce some of globalization's ill effects, and to help protect the environment from the type of short-sighted exploitation that free market systems may encourage. These prescriptions are not the strongest part of the book, in my opinion. At best, I see his prescriptions as ideas that could gain some traction in the mid- to long-term future, after the material well-being of people in the developing countries has sufficiently advanced. There is a hierarchy of human needs, and people who are not adequately fed or sheltered will not of their own volition sacrifice material progress for culture or for the environment.
Friedman is an engaging writer with great sympathy for the people he writes about. As his other book, From Beirut to Jerusalem, also shows, he is also a great explainer of complex phenomena, without tending toward oversimplification. This is an indispensable book for those who want to understand globalization.

Overall, this was a good introduction to globalization. Although Friedman was somewhat repetitive and wordy, he made some good, insightful points. His uses analogies and anecdotes to liven up what could be an otherwise dull subject, though some are more helpful than others. He does have a pro-globalization bias, and does not provide specific solutions to the disadvantages of globalization that he touches on. Nevertheless, I thought the main points Friedman did make are worth reading, although I thought the book could have been trimmed a bit.

The book centers on a few themes. In summary, the world is growing increasingly interconnected, and this has accelerated after the fall of the Berlin wall. With markets opening, trade barriers falling, and the spread of deregulation and free-market capitalism, we have created an increasingly interconnected global economic web. Companies, countries, and consumers can trade globally, find the best price, and move money anywhere in the world with a phone call or a click of a mouse. Telecommunications, TV, and the internet spread information instantly. The symbol Friedman uses of all this prosperity is the Lexus. The "olive tree," in contrast, represents the human cultural needs must not be trampled in the process of globalization, that is, the anchors of cultural and community identity that can easily be forgotten while "modernizing."

Although this global economic system promises rapid increases in the standard of living, it also forces both countries and companies to compete for capital. Democracies may vote every few years, but the global capital markets vote with every transaction, every hour of every day. To attract foreign investors, governments must avoid war, maintain low inflation, balance their budgets, provide political stability, enforce strict banking & commercial laws, conform to international accounting standards, and have courts and officials free from corruption. Governments who deviate from these principles will see investors stampede away, interest rates rise, stock markets and currencies fall, and their dreams of prosperity fade.

Besides capital flights, there are additional disadvantages. Capitalism results in unequal distributions of wealth, and creates much job churn and is thus socially disruptive. Some find it unfair, intense, dehumanizing, or just too hard. To make globalization sustainable, Friedman emphasizes that countries must a provide social-safety net for people who can't keep up with the faster, more competitive economy, or who are temporarily displaced during the resulting economic churn. Additionally, one must take care to balance the Lexus vs. Olive tree, so that cultural diversity isn't wiped out in the process.

As the title indicates, Tom Friedman ably places many of the complex issues in international relations and economics into easy to understand examples and analogies. His story telling comes alive based upon his extensive experience as a foreign correspondent and journalist, and he ably describes the post Cold War international environment. His book is a major contribution to defining how technology and globalization are shaping a new world order. He also does an adequate job of portraying how U.S. cultural and economic influence (some would say imperialism) is impacting many cultures across the globe.
My one criticism of the book is the author's overkill of the use of analogies. He continues to drive his point home in many chapters by offering several more examples to support his opinion. Although entertaining, I became bored reading several more analogies after getting his initial point. Otherwise, the book definitely made me think about many of the issues, which I experienced when living overseas for over three years, from a different perspective.
Anyone who is interested in economics, international relations, political science, or national security issues should read this book. It provides many examples and analogies of the effects of globalization. Well worth the read.

On the whole Friedman succeeds in meeting the two objectives he sets for this book. First, he provides a valuable framework for discussion of the causes and course of globalization that is more comprehensive than previous attempts and is useful regardless where you stand on globalization. Second, Friedman provides examples that bring this phenomenon to life.
This more than compensates for the negatives, which include: (1) there is not as much substance as one would expect from the length of the book, (2) the personalization that may be appropriate in Friedman's New York Times column tends to come across as being full of himself in book length, (3) the new terms Friedman coins and the analogies are sometimes just plain silly, and (4) about page 300 Friedman switches from descriptive to prescriptive and looses credibility and his sense of conviction.
Freidman has also sparked useful debate. While his detractors have tried to position him as an unfeeling cheerleader for globalization what really gets to them his is assertion that for the first time countries can choose to be prosperous provided they are willing to play by the rules of the global markets. As people come to understand this, the advocates for old "ism's" or new "third ways" will be challenged to come up with more compelling cases for their alternatives.

Globalization has been a hot topic. The issue is local control vs. being subsumed by global homogenity. This book shows why the main force of globalization is really just openness.
In short, the book points out that more and more people are becoming investors and that investors want to make money on their investments. If a country or company is secretive and is run in a way that benefits the people running the country or company more than the investors, investors may choose to invest in a less risky situation. However, without investment, countries and companies cannot succeed in the long run. For that reason companies and countries need to follow account practices, manage themselves correctly, respect private property rights, contracts and other such things. These are the main outside influences that are forcing countries and companies to be more the same.
Each abstract point that Tom Friedman makes in this book is backed up with compelling stories based on his vast personal expeience. I remember being in Russia in 1998, right after their currency had collapsed. I talked to everyone I could about their hopes and fears and life in Russia and it really helped me sort out what I had read and give things more appropriate weights. Friedman has that kind of experience with almost every country in the world and has talked to every type of person. It what he says gives the feeling of "of course, I can relate to that, I'd feel the same way if I were in their shoes."

Friedman comes across as an intellectual dilettante who has leveraged his long experience as a successful, wide-ranging news correspondent to collect and organize his view of things into a philosophical framework that to him makes sense of the world. He's my kind of guy. He deals mostly with the economics of globalization in a breezy, informal style replete with pet, but useful, descriptors for various aspects of it. But however central those economic aspects may be, the embrace of globalization extends far beyond. It is the offspring of technology, nurtured in a rising sea of humanity. It is nothing less than the whole of the interaction and interdependence of the world's peoples in today's world environment.
Friedman's thesis is that globalization is the world system that replaced the Cold War, and that it's happening whether we like it or not. No argument from me on this point. We live in a world moved by market forces and technology as much as, if not more than, superpower politics.
The interaction of the new and the old explains our world today, which Friedman aptly captures with his metaphor of the Lexus and the olive tree. He looks at "how the age-old quests for material betterment and for individual and communal identity - which go all the way back to Genesis - play themselves out in today's dominant international system of globalization" (pg. 29).
He sees, understands, and explains globalization through his journalist's lenses, "assigning different weights to different perspectives at different turns in different situations, but always understand[ing] that it is the interaction of all of them together that is really the defining feature of international relations" (pg. 19). As such he interprets the world through a combination of at least six dimensions: economic, national security, political, cultural, environmental, and technological.
One of the hallmarks of globalization is rapid change - out with the inefficient; try something new. Change is scary to most people. This is the core reason, it seems to me, why globalization is disliked (feared) by conservatives of all stripes - too much change, too quickly. Change is occurring faster than many people can handle, be they individuals or grouped into nations, cultures, political parties, ethnic groups, or whatever. As he points out on page 62, Tip O'Neill's adage "All politics is local" Is fast becoming passe.
One has to wonder, though, if globalism isn't really just the triumph of Westernism and, in particular, Americanism. He alludes to this, as does Samuel P. Huntington among others. (See for example, Many Globalizations: Cultural Diversity in the Contemporary World, Peter L. Berger and Samuel P. Huntington, eds.). Certain radical groups around the world certainly ascribe to such a view. As Michael Hirsh writes, "Every major international institution - the UN, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, NATO, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade - was made in America. And taken together, all this institution building has amounted to a workable international system, one in which democracy and free markets seem to be an ever-rising tide" ("Bush and the World," Michael Hirsh, Foreign Affairs, September/October 2002, pg. 31). Add to that the Internet.
At the beginning of chapter 6 he uses Malyasia's Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to make the point that globalization is a given - a nation will resist it only at its economic peril. He could be (and perhaps is) speaking to opponents of globalization in this country. If globalization is the current world system, then it's logical for the United States, and certainly within our capabilities, to maintain our lead and use it to our geopolitical and geoeconomic advantage.
Of course, there are potential downsides to globalization - all of which, as he points out, are already occurring to some degree in various areas of the planet. These downsides include, for example, cultural homogenization (especially Americanization, which some around the world view with alarm and outrage); unplanned, unrestrained growth; and environmental degradation. He also discusses the problem of "winner take all." This is his metaphor for the disparity between incomes of superstars versus the rest of us and how this problem is exacerbated by globalization. He uses the NBA as a marvelous example.
This segues into a discussion of the backlash around the world. Much of it is in response to the various downsides mentioned above, but mostly, it seems to me, the backlash is driven by fear of change. He doesn't believe the backlash is a critical long-term danger though - not yet anyway, and probably never. Too many people around the world have a stake in globalization's success, even those that don't know what it is, because it brings a higher standard of living.
In the end Friedman is bullish (what he calls "rational exuberance") on globalization and on America. He recognizes a whole list of problems along with the possibility that the US may yet go bust. Still, he argues, America has the right tools, is at the right place, and has the right set of government, economic, and social systems to have and to maintain a commanding lead in globalization.
He makes an interesting, albeit somewhat obvious, point about the danger America now faces. Before globalization, when nation states were the key players and geopolitics was the playing field, if a person or group wanted "to wreak havoc on" America they had to first attain control of another nation state. Today even single individuals (e.g., hackers) can cause us serious harm, and organized groups not tied to any particular nation state (e.g., al Qaeda) can be dire threats.
This book, while not the final answer on globalization, does give me a new perspective on world and national events. For example, look at the hullabaloo over Enron, WorldCom, etc., and the new law requiring CEOs to certify their corporations' books in the context of what Friedman calls DOScapital 6.0, the electronic herd, a nation's hardware and software, and so forth. Now, is that a forced fit? Read this book and decide for yourself. It will be worth your time.

Over the years, New York Times reporter Tom Friedman has earned a reputation for his crisp and engaging writing and his ability to present the complex world events in ways that are easy to understand. If you're looking for an introduction to issues involved in the globalization of commerce, this is one of the best books on the market for it. Friendman's descriptions of things like the "electronic herd" of global capital investment and his McDonald's theory of international conflict bring a lot of sense to an otherwise confusing landscape of issues.
This strength of the book is also its limitation. Friedman is a clear writer because he paints with a broad brush. There is a strong bias at work here, but Friedman tends to try to keep hidden both his bias and points of debate that would contradict his theses. For example, he argues that market capitalism is now the one and only way to participate in the global economy, ignoring that there are several distinct flavors of "market capitalism" (US, Japanese, and European, for example) with very different rules and very different outcomes. Reading Friedman, one might assume that the Asian tigers had achieved their success by following the US model (which is the laissez-faire approach also advocated by the World Bank), while in fact they achieved robust growth through an approach more or less like that followed by the Japanese, which involved a combination of protectionism, currency management, and mandated savings. Friedman uses the 1997 Asian economic meltdown to argue that this Japanese-style approach is no longer valid and that global capital investment will not return until they better conform to the financial market transparency typical of the US. During the current slump, however, capital has fled from the US back to many of these economies because of their performance and not because of their transparency.
The question with globalization isnt whether it's "good" or "bad," but whether and how it should be managed. If you're looking for a more in-depth discussion of these issues and a more honest revelation of the author's biases, there are better books available, such as William Greider's "One World, Ready or Not." But this book isn't a bad place to get your feet wet.

Readers familiar with Thomas Friedman's consistently superb work for The New York Times - first reporting from the Middle East and now writing a column on foreign affairs - know him to be exceptionally bright and articulate. Since 1994, Friedman has specialized in covering the intersection between foreign policy and international finance, so he is an ideal interpreter of globalization - the trend toward international economic integration through free-market capitalism. This book is a fine introduction to events profoundly impacting on our world, written in Friedman's characteristically clear and crisp prose. The "Lexus" in Friedman's title stands for "the drive for sustenance, improvement, prosperity and modernization," whereas the "olive tree" "represents everything that roots us, anchors us, identifies us and locates us in the world - whether it be belonging to a family, a community, a tribe, a nation, a religion or, most of all, a place called home." Much of Friedman's book is devoted to the theme of the Lexus and olive tree wrestling with each other in order to find a healthy balance. According to Friedman: "The challenge in this era of globalization - for countries and for individuals - is to find a healthy balance between preserving a sense of identity, home and community and doing what it takes to survive within the globalization system."
In Friedman's view, the "slow, fixed, divided Cold War system" is readily distinguishable from the "new, very greased, interconnected" world of globalization, in which free-market capitalism is spreading throughout the world. According to Friedman: "While the defining measurement of the Cold War was weight - particularly the throw weight of missiles - the defining measurement of the globalization system is speed - speed of commerce, travel, communication and innovation." In contrast to the Cold War's "overly regulated, walled up system," Friedman explains that globalization's three "democratization" - the democratization of information, the democratization of technology, and the democratization of finance - are changing the way business and everything else is done. In Friedman's view, "what is new...is the sheer number of people and countries able to partake of today's globalized economy and information networks, and to be affected by them." According to Friedman, "the Internet offers the closest thing to a perfectly competitive market in the world today." Friedman explains: "In the 1980s the Internet was a novelty. By the 1990s it was a useful technology. By the time the new millennium rolled around it was an indispensable tool for doing business." Friedman writes at some length about what he cleverly calls "the Electronic Herd," which is "made up of all the faceless stock, bond and currency traders sitting behind computer screens all over the globe, moving their money around from mutual funds to pension funds to emerging markets, or trading on the Internet from their basements." According to Friedman: "Countries cannot thrive in today's world without plugging into the Electronic Herd." Friedman explains that, with "the end of the Cold War system and the fall of walls everywhere, there suddenly emerged a vast global plain where investor herds from many different countries could roam freely." Friedman acknowledges that the effects of globalization are not entirely positive. For instance, Friedman acknowledges that the Electronic Herd is "potentially more volatile" than previous models, and that makes markets less stable. According to Friedman, "today, in the globalization era, the ability of the herd to transmit instability from bad countries to good countries has vastly increased." In addition, Friedman predicts that the system of globalization will "both environmental disasters and amazing environmental rescues." The prospect of environmental problems in the new world order is especially troubling. Friedman asks: "Can we develop a method of environmentally sustainable globalization?" He answers: "One hope is clearly that technology will evolve in ways that will help us preserve green areas faster than the Electronic Herd can trample them." Friedman adds: "But technological breakthroughs alone will not be enough to neutralize the environmental impact of the herd, because the innovations simply are not happening fast enough - compared to how fast the herd moves, grows and devours." Friedman places his hope in "super-empowered environmentalists" "who, acting on their own, can now fight back effectively against both the Electronic Herd and governments...[M]ore and more multinationals are realizing that to preserve their global reputation and global brands in the face of Internet activism, they need to be environmentally responsible." Friedman also offers this cautionary observation: "[I]n 2000 we understand as much about today's system of globalization is going to work as we understood how the Cold War system was going to work in 1946." Friedman's point, I believe, is that, although we have been able to give a name - globalization - tothe most powerful force changing the world, that does not mean that we are close to fully comprehending it. Some aspects of the globalized world are fully comprehensible and frightening. Notwithstanding the manifest benefits of globalization, there is an ongoing backlash against it. In particular, Friedman warns about "the real, immediate national security threat" from what he calls "the Super-Empowered Angry Man," such as the Aum Shinrikyo sect in Japan, the Unabomber, Osama bin Laden, and the Ramzi Yousef group in New York. Friedman implies, quite correctly I believe, that, the globalized world may be very exciting, but it also remains a very dangerous place. Friedman obviously believes that most of the globalization process is beneficial, and he probably is correct, but he also is not entirely objective. Friedman is not merely a pundit. He is a proponent for globalization. He writes: "You cannot thrive today without plugging into the Electronic Herd."
This book is excellent, and, all things considered, I believe it is superior to John Micklethwait and Adrian Woolridge's A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Hidden Promise of Globalization, another introduction to globalization which I recently read and reviewed. However, I would recommend either. Whether one is a globalization proponent or opponent or neutral, the system is changing the world, and that behooves all of us to understand it better.

I just finished being underwhelmed by Thomas Friedman's best-seller The World is Flat, and I recall being so much more impressed by The Lexus and the Olive Tree when I read it a few years back. So I decided to go back for a look to determine whether this is as good as I remember it.

Yeah, it is.

Comparing the two books, it is obvious that The World is Flat is flashier, and on reading it it seems to have been prepared more to appeal to the market than to curious minds. There's no doubt that if you are looking for a critical, informative, and iconoclastic view of globalization, then The Lexus and the Olive Tree is a better bet, despite some flaws. And there's even less doubt that Mr. Friedman -- whose jet-black hair turned salt-and-pepper grey in the period between the two author's photos -- is moving further from the mark as time goes by -- much like the angry indie rock group that tempers its edge to ensure commercial success.

The name of the book is a good metaphor for globalization: it was borne in 1992, when Mr. Friedman finished a tour of a state-of-the art Lexus factory in Japan and after marveling at the efficient robots that assembled those beautiful cars, he enjoyed a meal of freshly-prepared sushi on a soundless bullet train. He leaned back in his chair and read a bit about the latest Middle East clashes, and it hit him: half the world was consumed by lust for things like those sublime Lexus autos, and the other half was consumed with fighting over who owned some olive tree.

Both of these books are at their heart about the importance of individuals in each respective process: say, Bill Gates and Osama bin Laden, respectively. But what The Lexus and the Olive Tree does so much better than its progeny (The World is Flat is considered a 2005 "update" to this superior effort) is make its points pretty clearly and effectively, without all the padding that seems to characterize the newer volume. Globalization is becoming an increasingly meaningless buzz word: to understand what it really means and what it implies, you could do much worse than reading The Lexus and the Olive Tree.

I didn't completely re-read The Lexus and the Olive Tree for this review, but I did spend an afternoon refreshing my memory by leafing through it.

I cannot say it is without flaw. Mr. Friedman's writing can often seem heavy-handed (this is a common weakness for writers who earn their paychecks crafting 800-word installments and who suddenly decide to write a 500-page argument on a single subject). And it's almost as if he became fatigued with the effort -- the end of the book seems weaker than the first two sections.

Additionally, even though I think this is the better of Mr. Friedman's two books on globalization, there are parts of The Lexus and the Olive Tree that are clearly dated (there's a chapter praising Enron, for example) -- not so much that it risks irrelevance, but enough that it can seem quaint rather than informative. That's not Mr. Friedman's fault, of course, but it makes me think that the book is in need of a good update -- too bad we got a so-so update instead.

I read part of this book for a Globalization class I was taking, plus a few chapters from a different book "Globalization and Its Discontents" by Joseph Stiglitz. I initially liked what I read from Friedman. It seemed positive and interesting in comparison to Stiglitz (which focused on IMF economic policies and was VERY angry). However, upon reading the whole Stiglitz book and then going back to Friedman, I found Friedman to be poorly educated in economics and a waste of my time. It is indeed a cheerleader book for Globalization and has so many holes in it you can drive a car through.

Friedman is a market fundamentalist with an agenda, which becomes very clear after reading a REAL book on economics. He embraces this "golden straightjacket" (or restrictions that globalization puts on an economy) as inevitable and advocates a rapid transition to free-market systems with abandonment of old systems. He also favors excessive deregulation of the economy and wants government to completely relinquish control. The success of this strategy isn't backed by any evidence. It's only Friedman's theory. For instance, he goes into great detail about the hardships that this golden straitjacket puts on government, the population and all the entrenched interests... but never proves with evidence that the countries that put it on are better off than countries that don't. The fact is, countries DON'T have to follow this golden straitjacket model. Southeast Asia in particular... with all the "crony" capitalism that Friedman complains lingered on for decades, was successful before the 1997 market crisis specifically because of this crony capitalism. They didn't follow the IMF, Wall Street, and the electronic herd who were all clamoring for them to immediately open up their markets and push down barriers and completely eliminate government interference in the economy. They kept those barriers up, built up their own businesses and industries, and when those industries were ready to compete in the global market, they slowly reduced trade barriers and integrated themselves into the global economy. This is the correct way to approach globalization, not the stupid way Friedman and the IMF and Wall Street lobbyists advocate (ensuring US companies dominate ALL competition in the developing world).

I'll give another example of why Friedman is wrong. Look at Russia. Russia's transition from communism to capitalism was guided by the IMF and the US Treasury Department. It was one of the most radical transformations of an economy in the history of mankind and under Friedman's theory, it should have been an enormous success because "the quicker you adopt the golden straitjacket, the better". WRONG. They transitioned to free markets so quick that it was devoid of competition. There was no regulatory structure to compete fairly. Banks didn't operate well. Businesses were sold to well-connected, corrupt bureaucrats for next to nothing (who proceeded to strip the businesses of their assets and put most of the profits in foreign bank accounts). Corrupt government leaders shared in these profits at the expense of the state's wealth. The leaders further raided funds by taking out massive loans from international banks, the IMF and the US government at high interest rates and diverted much of the money into their bank accounts. Inflation ran wild for awhile and many people lost their life savings and retirement as a result. Exchange rates were kept artificially high which prevented exports. Crime and mafia control spread everywhere. People in abject poverty become commonplace (from ~2% of the population living under $2 a day under communism....... to after the market failure ~25% of the population under $2 a day and ~40% of the population under $4 a day. GDP per Capita went DOWN so people were poorer with capitalism than they were under communism). It was altogether complete chaos and an economic disaster.

Compare this with China, who also moved from Communism to Capitalism but they started in the 70's and they did it much slower and much more carefully. Through protectionist barriers, they built up their own industries, significantly reduced poverty, became a major world economy and provided many of the amenities that first world economies have. While they aren't completely free-market yet, they are doing it very well and completely ignoring Thomas Friedman's "Golden Straitjacket".

With that said, there are some good things about Thomas Friedman's book. First off, he explains a very popular... but failed... ideology very well. There is significant support for it in IMF, Wall Street and the Treasury Department and its important to understand. Secondly, he explains Capital Markets (or what he calls "short horned cattle") far better than my other book does. Capital Markets, or investment in currency, is a hard concept to understand and Friedman makes a very good effort at explaining it.

Thomas Friedman has been a foreign correspondent with the New York Times for years, and as such has seen much of the world. Indeed, every single chapter has several stories from villagers in China, US government officials, to Silicon Valley executives.
Friedman's strength is composing analogies to make globalization comprehensible. He describes the collective activities of investors, large and small, using the Internet to move money around the planet quickly and sometimes irresponsibly as the "Electronic Herd." He describes the American-style free-market capitalism that best takes advantage of globalization as the "Golden Straitjacket." He describes economies using a personal computer analogy; the basic economic system (e.g. capitalist, communist, authoritarian etc) is the "hardware" and the legal system, free press, social attitudes etc compromise the "operating system" and "software" of an economy. If a country just has an open economy with no political stability, no stock market regulation etc, it is like a computer without a surge protector when lightning strikes; the result is a meltdown.
As far as Friedman's evaluation of globalization, I would describe his view as cautiously optimistic. Friedman himself states, "Generally speaking, I think it's a good thing that the sun comes up every morning. It does more good than harm, especially if you wear sunscreen and sunglasses. But even if I didn't care for the dawn there isn't much I could do to stop it. I didn't start globalization, I can't stop it - except at a huge cost to human development - and I'm not going to waste time trying." (xxi-xxii)
In terms of documenting his position, the single largest problem with the book is the near total reliance on anecdotes and interviews. There is no bibliography and no footnotes in the book (well, there are some internal footnotes), merely a one and a half page list of acknowledgements for all the people he interviewed. While these definitely make the book interesting to read and personal, one always can and should ask, "Are these people representative of what's happening?" I think this sort of material should be used for purposes of highlighting points or illustration rather than the main content of a book. To be fair, Friedman does include statistics and other such information from a variety of sources (but his documentation is spotty; sometimes he will just say "The Economist says")
Friedman's main thesis is that globalization is the _system_ of international relations that has replaced the Cold War system of nuclear weapons, East vs. West and the rest of it. While there is certainly strong points to support him in this (e.g. the Soviets are gone) and the greatly increased importance of international trade and the ability of markets to move capital around the world quickly, an ability made possible by new technologies (especially the Internet), I think he has probably overstated his case.
To explain the title of the book, the Lexus represents all the forces of globalization; the Internet, investors, the Golden Straitjacket and so on. The Olive Tree represents the home, national identity and all the things provide a person's meaning and value in life. There needs to be a balance between these two forces. Silicon Valley executives that demand all Lexus and no Olive Tree are going to produce people with no sense of identity or self and people that only have the Olive Tree are either going to become poor or remain cut off from the major sources of growth in the world today.
The economic aspect of the globalization is the primary focus of the book, so there is only limited content dedicated to the effects (positive and negative) on the environment and culture. Friedman is also _very_ critical of those who would criticize globalization; his main criticism can be summed up with this quote: "Like other ideological backlashers against globalization, Zjuganov had more attitude than workable programs, more ideas about how to distribute income than about how to generate it." (page 328)
Critics of globalization ought to take note; simply saying, "This is all wrong!" is just not enough anymore. Real, workable alternatives have to be provided. I think one good example of this is the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which actually provides alternative Government budgets.
Friedman concludes the book with a long discussion (Part Four: America and the System) of how America is the country best suited to take responsibility for managing globalization AND how America is the country that is ideally situated to benefit from it. He thinks that there has to some safeguards on the system to prevent it from harming too many people. It is interesting to note that Friedman added about 100 pages in this second version of the book, which is only about a year old. He needs to change it to take account of September 11, the collapse of Argentina and the bankruptcy of Enron, among other things.
I have not decided what I think about globalization just yet though; this is a good starting place to begin though. The next book I read on the topic will be, "The Globalization Reader," edited by Frank Lechner and John Boli (ISBN: 0631214771); it covers all aspects of globalization from a variety of perspectives; critics, optimists, and those who are in between.

Point: Globalization - The Lexus is technology, business, and computers. The Olive Tree is community, family, religion and values. These two are on the fast track to collision in the faster than ever world of cyberspace.

Path: Friedman moves through three main areas: Seeing the System, Plugging into the System, the Backlash against the System, and America and the System.

Sources: Mostly based on personal experiences as a journalist and ambassador, Friedman shares his view of the world.

Agreement: Although it was written 11 years ago, the author explains what I see today. Obviously some of his predictions were off (about China), but most of what he says we see today, just sped up.

One epiphany I had while reading this book is that technology has taken a line graph which in the 19th century was written in months or years. In the 20th century it was written in days. Today it is written in seconds. It is as though everything is zoomed in to the very pixel and people overreact for every tiny blip, for in their view it is a spike or collapse. Take a step back. Trust that God is in control. Let the line move a little.
I would make a horrible stock broker!

Disagreement: His view of God is skewed.

Personal App: The world is changing...fast. People don't change. Focus on the people.

It is outdated now, but helped get me into the idea of globalization.

This book is an analysis of globalization as an economic and political force. Friedman contends that globalization is the new organization of the world that has spontaneously appeared since the end of the Cold War. He argues that the developments in finance and instant communication, including telephones, faxes, e-mail and the Internet have shifted the balance of power in the world from national superpowers to an anonymous, amorphous group that he terms the "Electronic Herd." Countries that open their borders and adopt free-market economics can reap the riches that globalization promises, but doing so also has unavoidable consequences for traditional culture.

The book is organized into four parts: Seeing the System, Plugging into the System, The Backlash against the System, and America and the System. In the first part, Friedman lays out the essential elements of his analysis of globalization, from the conflict between the desire for development and luxury (the Lexus) and the yearning for traditional roots (the olive tree), to the Golden Straitjacket (Friedman's term for the set of economic constraints that a country must adopt in order to reap the benefits of globalization), to the Electronic Herd (independent international investors constantly trying to scoop up hot deals while avoiding burnt fingers). The remainder of the book considers how globalization came about or comes about, and what its possible consequences may be.

Before reading this book, I had heard that Friedman was a proponent of globalization, and that he uses this book for a platform for arguing why it should be spread. But that's not the message I got from reading the book. Globalization is a tricky issue because there is no universally accepted definition of the term. If `globalization' is taken to mean allowing transnational corporations to gain increasing control of the economies of developed and developing countries alike, then no reasonable person who doesn't have a financial interest in the corporations would support it. But for Friedman, `globalization' is "the inexorable integration of markets, transportation systems, and communication systems to a degree never witnessed before-in a way that is enabling corporations, countries, and individuals to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper than ever before, and in a way that is enabling the world to reach into corporations, countries, and individuals farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper than ever before." (Although this definition actually appears in another book of his, Longitudes and Attitudes, such a definition is assumed throughout the present book.) He writes "Globalization is the product of the democratizations of finance, technology and information, but what is driving all three of these is the basic human desire for a better life-a life with more choices as to what to eat, what to wear, where to live, where to travel, how to work, what to read, what to write and what to learn." The fact is, for the vast majority of countries on the planet, globalization is already in place to a certain extent, and becoming more extensive everyday. In this sense of the word, it makes no sense to support or oppose globalization; what we need to do is understand it better so that we might see where it is taking us.

In this book, Friedman seeks to help us understand the consequences of globalization, both positive and negative. He argues that one positive consequence of globalization is that it puts pressure on autocratic governments to become more democratic. But he also warns that empowering individuals as our modern communications system has done has created the potential for super-monsters. Indeed, when one keeps in mind that this book was written in 1999, one can see how prophetic he was: "When you combine the angry men that Americanization-globalization creates with the way in which globalization can super-empower people, you have what I believe is the real, immediate national security threat to the United States today: the Super-Empowered Angry Man. That's right, it's not another superpower that threatens America at the end of the twentieth century. The greatest danger that the United States faces today is from Super-empowered individuals who hate American more than ever because of globalization and who can do something about it on their own, more than ever, thanks to globalization." He then goes on to name Osama bin Laden as one of the prime examples of such angry men.

Instead of being an enthusiastic proponent of no-holds-barred globalization, Friedman stresses, "there will be no sustainable globalization without environmental preservation and cultural preservation." He goes on to note "America does have a shared national interest to pursue in today's globalization system, and it has an enormous role to play. Put simply: As the country that benefits most from global economic integration, it is our job to make sure that globalization is sustainable and that advances are leading declines for as many people as possible, in as many countries as possible, on as many days as possible."

The one aspect of the book that I didn't like was Friedman's somewhat flippant writing style. Perhaps he is trying to appeal to a general audience by using a very conversational style, but I found this off-putting when discussing such a serious topic. Some of his metaphors for explaining globalization (such as DOS 1.0-7.) are also a bit too rooted in the popular culture of the 1990s to give them lasting meaning for future audiences. These points aside, the book is quite informative and thought-provoking and should be read by all interested in international economics or politics.

Friedman has compared the pre and post cold war worlds. How the power has shifted from nations to the markets. How important have business and markets become in this globalized world.

Investors wield enormous power in moving capital around the world, wherever the returns are likely to be maximum. All that with the click of a mouse. It is not just the individual investor. It is a collection of investors acting independently but voting together on the quality of Governance of a country. On the business friendliness of a country. He calls this collection as an "electronic herd" and the process itself as democratization of finance.

Democratization of finance was enabled by the democratization of information and the democratization of the technology. Democratization of information started with internet. All these processes are enabling the cycle of innovation to commoditization at the speed of net.

Cold war was based on chess board and check book. Super powers paid to supporting countries for occupying a square on the chess board. Electronic herd, on the other hand, plays monopoly. Lexus is symbolic of democratized high technology, while the Olive tree is symbolic of cold war thinking of occupying a square.

Joining global economy and plugging into the electronic herd is the equivalent of taking your country public. The electronic herd votes every hour every day thru their mutual funds, their pension funds, their brokers, from their basements via internet. Electronic herds brought down Suharto, made South Korea send out an e-mail to global investors detailing currency reserves at the end of each business day, including, as best as it can, private capital flows. Democratization of finance has also meant that the Bonds and stock markets liberate entrepreneurs from having to cultivate relationships with just a handful of Bankers in order to raise cash. Companies that issue stocks and bonds have their performance judged every day by the electronic herd.

Not joining the global economy is an invitation to let bureaucrats and cronies allocate capital rather than the market place. Although Capitalism is not good at distribution of income (socialism is good at it), but it is capitalism which can ensure growth through proper allocation of resources. In the bargain, some people could get hurt. And the social safety nets are supposed to take care of them.

Thucydides wrote in his History of Peoloponnesian war that nations fight for three reasons-honor, fear, interest. Businesses and markets are influencing countries to desist from going to war. Friedman makes an interesting observation that no two countries that both had McDonalds had fought a war against each other since each got its McDonalds.

Globalization is also leading to a wide gap between the super skilled, skilled, not so skilled and unskilled.Winner takes all explains why Michael Jordan made more money than his peers at NBA because he was a global icon after the collapse of Berlin wall.

Over connected world is making the society and the world more claustrophobic. We are all connected but no one is in charge.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It explains the reasons behind globalization, possible costs and benefits of it, and what we can expect from it in the future. It clearly is selling the upside and downplaying the costs, but overall I think the book is right on the money.

You have to get used to Friedman's use of anecdotes and cute little sayings. It's annoying but doesn't take away from the message of the book.

My main criticism of the book is Friedman's blind faith in greed. The desire for more consumer products, Friedman says, will drive societies in the direction of openness and freedom. It makes you wonder what would happen if an anti-democratic system were found to be superior at producing more consumer products? Even if greed for more products does drive societies toward openness, I question whether there may be a backlash against greed in general. Greed has been recognized as a vice throughout human history. I think moral aversion to greed will eventually take globalization in a new direction. I don't know what that direction is.

The most striking example is when he talks about how an Iranian man learned to appreciate the American way of life by watching Bay Watch. I shouldn't even have to say that you can learn nothing about reality by watching shows like Baywatch. You certainly won't learn anything about the principles of freedom and how American's are willing to go to jail to criticize their government. This belief in taking ownership of the government and taking personal risks to protect the right to criticize the government is what we need to be exporting. A lot of what's in movies and TV shows is designed to make people not think about those things but rather to feel the need for more and more consumer products and services. I'm sure it works on many people, including foreigners. I just think it's sad if we're counting on this type of cultural interchange to promote open societies and world peace.

Freedman seems to buy into a lot of marketing himself. He quotes commercials promoting computer products and information services without discussing them critically. He implies that the commercials are reasonable primary source for his book. He does the same when he talks to corporate executives. He never points out the possible self-interested motivations these people may have when they tell him their technology will change the world and change it for the better.

I still agree with the tenor of Friedman's book. Globalization is inevitable. We need to think about how it should happen not whether it should happen. The issues I mentioned about greed and consumerism are not caused by globalization. They're just related to it.

This book explains many things that are related to globalization and not directly caused by it. If you overlook the claims about consumerism solving the world's problems, this is a really good book.

This is a collection of stories and anecdotes woven together in ways that may radically change your view of the modern world--if you are open to new ideas. This is not an academic treatise, nothing is quantified, and there may be few individually new ideas here. Its breadth of insights and storytelling is its strength.
If you still believe in the Republican Congressional class of 94, you will hate this book (see some reviews here). If you are a traditional liberal, you will be uncomfortable through the first two thirds of this book. There is a wide divergence of opinion among reviewers, but charges of shallowness are hard to understand unless the reader isn't open to these ideas or doesn't like storytelling as a didactic technique.
If you don't have time to read the whole book, at least read the article from the Sunday NY Times Magazine March 28, 1999 which is basically excerpts, although less well organized.

Mr. Friedman presents a good overview of the process of globalization and for people who are trying to get a grasp of what that process is all about I would recommend this book. But I know the process is taking place and I know enough about what is driving it to want more than this book offers. I kept waiting for Mr. Friedman to reach conclusions about where the process is going and was constantly disappointed that none were forthcoming. Mr. Friedman's style is also heavily anecdotal, sometimes to the point of becoming a travelogue, and at points Mr. Friedman lets a certain arent-I-clever tone mar his writing. This book is the McDonald's version of globalization: quick, easy to digest, and nutritious enough to keep you alive to your next meal. Readers looking for a more in depth study should go elsewhere; a good introduction to the subject and little else.

When you hear the word "globalization" and you are not sure what that entails then this is the book for you. Friedman offers a clear and concise explanation of the forces affecting our modern world. His use of metaphors bring things down to a very understandable level even if you are not well versed in economics or politics.
One of the most interesting metaphors Friedman brings out is that of the "electronic herd." During the period of the Cold War countries sought to ally themselves with either the United States or the Soviet Union and thus recieve money from them. Today it is different, countries must convince the electronic herd (the mass of investors using the internet and new technologies to invest) to invest in their country.
This electronic herd is brutal and only "grazes" where money is to be found. It leaves when there is any sign that money will be lost. The frustrating thing for many is that the herd is made up primarily of United States citizens or citizens from other 1st world countries. This herd is pushing its way into all the countries of the world and selling its values of capitalism and individualism. Yet, at the same time the herd pushes environmentalism and human rights.

To understand the force of globalization and the good and bad that comes with it, read this book.

Former New York Times correspondent Thomas Friedman is well-traveled, well educated and very well versed, particularly in Middle Eastern affairs, but his book lacks a significant critique of the downside of globalization. He unabashedly embraces free-market capitalism as the only route to progress, disregarding the ecological fallout (mining disasters, global warming, ozone problems, ad infinitum) or the personal and psychosocial effects of DOS Kapital operating 24/7 (workers forced to be available seven days a week via fax, e-mail, pager, IM, or voicemail. Everyone freaking out as a result of paper overload and leisure time becoming more of a rare commodity.) That's not even to mention the ethics of underpaying someone in Thailand or the Philippines to do an American job.

Friedman's argument is that the world is divided into two groups: those who are moving forward with globalization (i.e., those who can afford or who are aware of the Lexus) and those whose identity is derived from territorial disputes and are therefore asking themselves who owns a particular olive tree. I can't dispute that.

The book was extremely interesting and easy to read, although I could've done without many of the anecdotes. I also felt that it was a bit too long and fatalistic. We can't stop globalization, thus, there's no need to be for it or against it. Really? Just because we can't turn back the clock doesn't mean that we can't try to alter its course or the devastating consequences of some global policies.

Sigrid Macdonald

Author of D'Amour Road

Globalization is a phenomenon that one is supposed to (1) accept as inevitable and (2) welcome as what's best for people like us (First World winners, as opposed to Third World losers). It is brought to you by the same folks who are saying that this time the bull market will last forever. (It's not likely anyone remembers 1929, but how about the gold market in the 1970s?--remember what happened when the small fry got into that?)
Globalization, however, is neither inevitable in the form being promoted nor is it likely to be really good for anybody but those who are promoting it (read Pierre Bourdieu). So it needs to be sold--enter the salesman. Thomas L. Friedman's glib treatment of this world-historical issue represents the triumph of packaging over substance that rules the American economy--and sooner or later will rule the world economy if Friedman's masters have their way. The colorful writing is like the pink frosting on one of those cellophane-wrapped cakes, and serves the same function: to make what one will soon regret eating look appetizing. There is no real "nutrition" in this book. One has to agree that the book is empiracle--if that neologism means that it promotes the interests of the empire. Would that it were in fact antidotal as well!

before reading this book, it would be advisable to read "capitalism, socialism and democracy" by schumpeter...
with that said, i must say that although this book is VERY general, it does open your eyes/mind to the fact that globalization is happening and will most likely happen internationally...
the author presents various ideas that are based on simple examples... the combination of these ideas builds a fabric for globalization that can be well understood... however, it is the way the fabric is sewn in detail that is missing. so, if you truly wish to find out about the good/bad behind globalization you may want to start reading between the lines - information can be found online pertaining to sovereign/internal discussions... seek and you shall find.
in any case, after having read this book one clear point was made:
in order to grow and succeed in business, and at a personal level w/ relationships/society, it is crucial that you become globalized as an individual... too much internalism can hinder growth.
buy it, read it, and make your own conclusions... for desert, read "connexity" by geoff mulgan.

According to Tom Friedman's "Lexus and the Olive Tree", globalization is not only inevitable, but it's a wondrous and many splendored thing to be embraced and celebrated. Oh, and by the way, if you don't embrace and celebrate globalization, you'll be left in the dust bin of history along with all the other losers and be forever stuck with a bunch of stupid olive trees instead of a nice shiny [begin using Homer Simpson voice here] Lexus (d'oh! ). Lexus...McDonalds....Shopping Malls...Beer....aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh! [ok, you can stop using the Homer Simpson voice now!].
Basically, this is a good book if you want to understand globalization. But it's a bad book if you want to understand why globalization might not be an unmitigated great thing. Because, according to Friedman, globalization is [Tony the Tiger voice here] totally grrrrrreat! And who needs all those stupid old olive trees (i.e., your culture, traditions, values, language, music, art, family, religion) anyway when you can eat at a McDonalds (conveniently located in your local mall), people speaking English (not their antiquated and useless native tongues, for heaven's sake), work for a friendly (and of course benign, because if it weren't it would immediately get trashed all over the internet and would be forced to change - have faith!) multinational corporation, listen to American popular music, watch American TV and movies, dress like an American, adopt the same capitalist economic values as Americans (the only ones that have any chance of working anyway!), and basically, just BE an American! Hey, it's inevitable anyway, and resistance is futile, so you might as well lay back and enjoy it!
But, the problem is - and this is sacrilege and stupidity to Friedman -- what if you don't WANT to be an American? What if you'd rather take a siesta in the afternoon, or drink wine and nibble cheese at the local family-owned café you've been going to for years, or actually meet your friends PHYSICALLY (as opposed to virtually over the - bow down as you say this word -- INTERNET), or prefer to have less manufactured stuff (and hence, slower economic "growth") and more olive trees? Well, sorry buddy, but you better just [you can use a drill sergeant voice here if you want] GET WITH THE PROGRAM! and fast, or you're going to be left behind everyone else smart enough to put on their golden straitjackets!
Anyway, if you want to understand globalization (which you should if you want to understand the world you live in and where it is going), this book is as good a place as any to start, I suppose (if you can get past all the annoying anecdotes, bad jokes, and cloying banalities which Friedman crams in - probably in an effort to be entertaining and not too heavy and seem really witty and urbane and sell LOTS OF BOOKS!). But, if you want to really think about what this book SHOULD have been about - what do we want out of life, more olive trees or more Lexuses? - then you'll have to go elsewhere. In Friedman's world, the olive trees don't stand a chance!

Written in the late 1990s (and later updated), Tom Friedman's lengthy assessment of globalization and the post-Cold War ear has etchd its place as one of the more prominent optimistic takes on the subject.

The NY Times columnist's main thesis is that the Cold War system of politcs (where governments largely determine the course of action) has given place to globalization (where governments open up to free-market capitalism and allw for open reporting and communication). Friedman spends more time focusing on the benefits of globalization -- mainly, that easy access to cheap world labor provides poorer countreis with access to successful jobs, allowing them to improve (the Lexus). Meanwhile, goods are manufactured more cheaply, saving us money. Also, free and open reporting helps lead governments more towards democracy and discourages corruption. Thirdly, countries who interact economically has a disincentive to get into military conflicts with each other.

Much is made of globalization's negatives, which Friedman does not ignore. This is the threat to our sense of community (the olive tree) which we fight for and feel a part of. With globalization, this local identity can be at risk, especially in smaller countries which feel they are becoming "Americanized."

While the book is long, TLATOT's success relies on Friedman's great storytelling and his ability to encapsulate complex issues into short catch phrases (such as the Electronic Herd and the Golden Straitjacket).

There are several problems with this book, the most significant of which is this -- people don't want to like globalization. They would much rather view it as an ominous, spooky power which anyone with sufficient intellect should dread. Whether it is couched as environmental destruction, corporate hegemony, American imperialism, Third-World exploitation, people love to hate it, and Friedman is unable to properly combat this inertia.

It is also significant after the last several years to note the areas where Friedman's predictions have turned out to be incorrect. While the Internet and communications revolution has changed the Anglosphere, it has not spurred much democratic change in China and . Friedman's comments about Enron are worth a good laugh as well. While some aspects of Friedman's analysis about the super-empowered individual's threat seems prescient with regard to 9/11, there are aspects of the book which ring hollow in the post-9/11 world.

Friedman offers possible solutions to the problems which globalization might present, some of which contain some political bias (I'm still not exactly clear how stricter gun control laws will lead to a better economy, for instance). Though I have not read The World is Flat, I surmise that this is Friedman's answer to the obselete elements of this book.

Despite these issues, most readers will find this book to be among the most interesting of those on the subject. While you may not always agree with him, you will enjoy Friedman's stories and analysis of the future.

Thomas Friedman has written a valuable book that synthesizes economics, politics, culture, and technology into explaining globalization; and Mr. Friedman has written it in an accessible style that simplifies concepts without sacrificing insight.
Despite the accessibility and comprehensiveness, "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" is short on three fronts: the first is the lack of historical depth: Mr. Friedman regards globalization as a product of the post-Cold War era. Thus, he ignores many of the lessons of the pre-1914 globalization. To argue (as he does) that this era of globalization is different does not render all analogies to the past useless.
Second, Mr. Friedman is caught in many clichés about globalization: with few exceptions, Mr. Friedman rarely says, "but this widespread perception is wrong." Next to his anecdotal compilation, he could have used some academic sources to dispel some of the myths about globalization. He does that sporadically but not enough.
Lastly, Mr. Friedman presents the weaker case for globalization: its inevitability; there is a stronger (liberal) case to make in favor of globalization. For the most part, Mr. Friedman shies away from that, and retains his "there is no alternative" lens. That's a great injustice to globalization.
Still, I don't think one can make a reading list on globalization that excludes "The Lexus and the Olive Tree." But if I had to read one book on globalization, this wouldn't be it.

Whether or not a person likes, refuses to acknowledge, or belives in globalization the fact of the matter is that we are in the age of globalization and there is no turning back.
I read Mr. Friedman's book "From Beirut to Jerusalem" and I was struck by his keen insight into the forces at work in the Middle East. The Lexus and the Olive Tree is written just as thoroughly and authoritatively.
Mr. Friedman uses actual events he has witnessed to back up his assertions and hypothesis on the origins and the impact of globalization. I think this book does not sit well with many because Friedman is so adept at sweeping away the norms and assumptions that characterized the "old order." Put simply, America, in many ways is no longer the "global hegemon" and the world's reference point. When you think about the fact that 15 years ago Thailand was a poverty-ridden backwater, barely subsisting on a "rice economy" and now it is the world's second largest producer of pick-up trucks (second to Detroit), and the world's fourth largest producer of motorcycles, it is safe to assume that "globalization" has unleashed the pent-up potential of many countries like Thailand, and that this is bound to have an impact on the "shape of the world."
I applaud Mr. Friedman for not being bound by selfish interests and fatuous loyalties to outdate orthodoxies. The majority may choose to stick their heads in the sand and refuse to acknowledge the forces at work in the world today, but the reality is that globalization is here to stay.

Just about everyone has a definition of globalization and a view as to whether it is 'good' or 'bad'. For most of us, relative 'goodness' or 'badness' will depend on how we perceive globalization to impact on us individually or on our local communities.

The case for globalization is not made in this book. The relative measurement of global benefits and disadvantages is not something readily accessible to most of us: what benefits me is likely to disadvantage you.

What makes this book worth reading, in my view, is that by using concrete examples (ownership of the olive tree, or desire for the Lexus)readers may come to see debates about globalization as not just being the realm of economists and governments. Whether we like it or not, globalization is part of the current world landscape. We need to consider what this means at an individual level.

This book does not provide answers. What it does provide is a starting point for identifying and thinking about some of the issues.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

The Lexus and the Olive Tree is an important book, but in many ways Thomas Friedman renders his own creation irrelevant. He is almost schizophrenic in his writing style, arguing with himself as if he has yet to make up his mind about the things he is writing. In some ways, it seems like he just prefers to share anecdotes (which are vivid and usually humorous) from his travels around the world, rather than the typical kinds of fact-based research one finds in these sort of books. The result is that the reader can understand some of the concepts, but they can also get a little tedious, and it is hard to translate the anecdotes into something that I assimilate into my worldview.
Furthermore, Friedman seems to love to quote people at length, but one wonders if indeed he is quoting word-for-word, or if he is just sort of crafting something to fit his book out of a vaguely similar comment the person may have made. But, then one thinks again, because the book is almost a little choppy in places because Friedman quotes random characters from all around the world for pages upon pages. One would prefer that he just paraphrase or use shorter quotes.
Because it was written 5 years ago, some of the reading is tedious (he explains what a DVD player is, for example), and in some areas he seems to be caught up in the "irrational" dot-com whirlwind. In his revised version of the book, it sort of just drones on, pontificating for about 20-30 pages too much. Thomas Friedman is a very personable guy, and he has a lot of interesting things to say about the world, but honestly, one doesn't care for his own political/religious philosophy being injected, mostly toward the end of the book. It was just awkward to read through the final chapter or two; the book has multiple personality disorder in some regards.
One almost feel like the book is written for an audience of Dick Gephardts. He wants to win the protectionist wing of the Democratic Party over with the book. He seems to be speaking to them. Maybe he is speaking to Republicans as well, but if so, he lectures a little too sanctimoniously on the environment and the notion of a social safety net (he calls Republicans "mean-spirited voices... uninterested in any compromise" and tries to argue that Africa, with its near-anarchy in places, would be a Republican's dream) to win conservatives over entirely. He sort of just randomly breaks into prostheletyzing, arguing, for example, "That the NRA should feel guilty about the Colombine massacres went without saying." Why even go into that? That's just tacky.
Finally, a reader gets sort of annoyed reading his own made-up terms (Golden Straightjacket, Electronic Herd, etc.), over and over, particularly since none of them caught on whatsoever in the past half-decade since the book came out.

Some of it is dead on, though, particularly when he writes as an observer of the world rather than an activist, and this book is a good way to conceptualize globalization for those who are having a hard time adapting their political ideology in the post-Cold War era. In general, I'd say The Lexus and the Olive Tree starts off strong, ends weak, and that's a shame. It was on track to get 5 stars from me, even with the early tributes to Al Gore and other political cheap shots, but the final part of the book was just THAT lacking, that it falls to 3 stars.

A starry eyed pep talk on the wonderful new world of the global economy-- free from any real experience of the depradations of the New World Order, Friedman chooses not to visit the maquilladora free trade zones, with their wrenching poverty and human exploitation. What Friedman replaces any critical analysis with is the sophistry, platitudes and blue sky fantasies of the neo liberal order, while every aspects of a democratic economy spins downward in the clutches and predations of his 'free' markets and information economy. See what sustenance an information sandwich or warmth a cyber dwelling has to provide the (increasingly numerous) victims of these ravages. Read Noam Chomsky's 'Profit over People' or Eammon Fingleton's 'In Praise of Hard Industries', to get a touch of reality of what is REALLY happening out there and the type of illusions, well represented in this book, that have to be overcome to fix it.

Friedman is a distinguished journalist. (He has won two Pulitzer Prizes for his reporting for The New York Times.) Over time, he has earned prominence as an interpreter of world affairs. His earlier book, From Bierut to Jerusalem, won the National Book Award in 1988. Curiously, what most reviewers of The Lexus and the Olive Tree have (as yet) failed to point out is that Friedman is also a moralist with passionate concerns about the negative impact of globalization. He really cares about individuals, families, villages and towns...indeed entire cultures...which, over time, forsake or have taken from them a unique identity. He accepts the inevitability of globalization; he does not accept the inevitability of homogenization. With all due respect to the superior quality of the Lexus automobile, Friedman affirms the need for preserving the olive tree amidst the "inexorable integration" of virtually everything within the world they share.
Friedman asserts that either human beings manage the system or it will manage them. The choice is theirs. Are there strategies and guidelines for such management? Yes. Are the separate cultures of the Lexus and olive tree necessarily mutually exclusive? No. Friedman concludes his brilliant analysis as follows: "A healthy global society is one which can balance the Lexus and the olive tree all the time., and there is no better model for this on earth today than America. And that's why I believe so strongly that for globalization to be sustainable America must be at its best -- today, tomorrow, all the time. It not only can be, it must be, a beacon for the whole world. Let us not squander this precious legacy." In remarks such as these, Friedman clearly reveals the passion of his convictions.

This book is, on the whole, a pretty decent effort to describe, in layman's terms, the economic trends which are guiding our new "Global Economy," and assessing what effects, both good and bad, this will have on the world's nations and cultures. For example, he explains that globalized high tech capitalism will be THE driving economic force in the years to come, and the nations and the people of the world need to face up to it, not hide their heads in the sand. For example, he explains how nations that best adapt to (and, therefore, benefit from) this new economic system will be those who get rid of corruption in government, allow the free exchange of ideas, and so forth. He admits there are downsides to these changes, rapid modernization is destabilizing, both individually (to workers in "old tech" industries who are no longer in demand) and communally, as old, established cultures are jerked into a world in which the only constant is continual change. In short, what Friedman brings to the bulk of this book are a combination of common sense, good reportage, an a decent effort at fairness and balance.
There are, of course, a number of nits to pick. He uses a series of terms to explain various concepts he is trying to get across, expressions like "The Electronic Herd," "The Golden Straitjacket," and so forth. Initially, these are helpful in that they convey ideas without exposing the reader to a bunch of complicated economic-ese. However, it does not take long for these to become cliched and quite tiresome. It's as if Friedman, so pleased with his own cleverness in coining these terms, has fallen in love with the sound of his own wittiness. Worse, in many respects, his insights are rather shallow. While it is nice that he thinks China will soon become much like America and Western Europe in terms of prosperity and economic savvy, he entirely neglects to look at the political dimension, namely, the country is still very much a political dictatorship. And dictators tend not to care much about Lexuses or olive trees, except to exploit both to further secure their own power.
But by far the worst part of the book is the end. This is where the "reasonable" Friedman takes a sabbatical, and the arrogant demagogue fills the void. He puts aside his balance and fairness and starts spewing partisan diatribes against everything from the NRA to Congressmen who prefer to take seriously their jobs as public servants by not wasting the taxpayers money on overseas "fact finding" junkets. He sneers at the latter as unsophisticated rubes who don't want to take the effort to learn about the world. It obviously never occurred to Friedman that a lot of these politicians were elected in 1994 precisely because the voters were sick of the sort of arrogance in which Congressmen and other government officials treated the taxpayers money as their personal ticket to the high life, and that many of those "fact finding" trips were little more than excuses to take exotic vacations on the public dime. And he all but accuses the NRA of being co-conspirators in the Columbine massacre. Of course, what would Friedman, who hobnobs with prime ministers and Cabinet members, know about the typical NRA member, who is probably a working class duck hunter or trap shooter? Anyway - note to Mr. Friedman: Next time you write a book, stick to the facts, and save the political editorializing for private drinking sessions between you and your elitist friends. The rest of us don't want to read this garbage.

Rating comment:
This is an excellent analysis of globalization. It reviews in depth its economics, politics, and demographics.
Abstract:
Globalization is the Post Cold War order. It represents the worldwide spread of free-market capitalism. The more you let market forces rule and the more you open your economy to free trade and competition, the more efficient and flourishing your economy will be. It is the world order of the Information Age. There are now two worlds: the Fast World (industrialized) that is fully adapted to globalization and the Slow World that is not (Africa, Islamic Middle East, Central Asia).
The Lexus represents innovation, technology, and global markets. The Olive Tree represents tradition and community identity. Globalization represents the impact that the Lexus has on the Olive Tree. The challenge is to insure that the Lexus and Olive Tree do not disrupt each other. Innovation should not hurt tradition, and tradition should not hinder innovation.

Globalization is built around three balances: 1) between nations; 2) between nations and capital markets; and 3) between nations and "super-empowered individuals" (SEIs). Osama bin Laden, and Bill Gates are SEIs. They can leverage much resources or capital to further (for good or bad) their respective objectives. Globalization with its access to information has given SEIs more power than ever.
The main global player is the "Electronic Herd." It represents all the institutional traders, and hedge funds who allocate capital worldwide at the click of a mouse. The Electronic Herd searches for optimal return on capital given specific risk levels. The Electronic Herd is the live nervous system of the world's capital markets (New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong). The capital markets of stocks, bonds, and currencies is the ruler of the world economy. Joining the global economy is "taking a country public." And, governments become accountable to the Electronic Herd members who are its shareholders and bondholders.
The Rules of Success to join the global system.
1) Countries must embrace transparency and international standards in markets and accounting, limit corruption, promote freedom of the press.
2) They must get "Fast" by empowering entrepreneurs, and readily adopting new technologies, and developing new markets for products and services. Japan has problems here because of a flawed political system.
3) Countries must get "light" emphasizing new information technologically driven industries instead of old smokestack industries. The new industries use miniaturization and digitization to produce value with much less physical weight than older industries.
4) A country must open itself up to trade, competition, markets. Openness attracts investment and technology from the Electronic Herd. Again, Japan is struggling here.
5) Countries must choose leaders who understand and promote globalization. Many leaders instead support protectionist policies that are self defeating.
6) Countries must position themselves just like consumer product brand. Government officials have to nurture their brand value. This is done by maintaining a sound track record in social, fiscal, and monetary policies, and in economic performance.
Depending on how well a government follows these rules, its economy will either thrive or not. The following countries did not follow these rules well enough during the nineties, and all experienced economic crisis: Thailand, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, and Brazil. The Electronic Herd laid bare their flawed governments. Russia attempted to plug into the international capital markets without the necessary infrastructure to succeed. Russia had no legitimate oversight, no rule of law to enforce contracts and protects investors. This lead to the Russian recession and bond default in the late nineties.

The politics of globalization do not follow a conventional Republican vs. Democrat division. Instead, they run along two axis. The first one represents the acceptance of globalization. On the far right of this axis, you have the "Integrationists" who welcome globalization and promote it through market competition, free trade, and technology. It is the Lexus camp. At the far left of this axis, you have the "Separatists" who believe globalization is bad. They fight it by supporting protectionist policies, and regulating technological change. They represent the "Olive Tree."
The second axis runs vertically represents the acceptance of government support to go along with globalization. At the southern end, you have the "Social Democrats" who believe that globalization will be sustainable only if it is democratized in both economic and political sense. At the northern end, you have the "Libertarians" who believe that unregulated markets should rule. They want to shrink government, taxes, and safety nets, and let people reap the fruits of their own labor or pay the price of their ineptitude. Bill Clinton was an Integrationist/Social Democrat. While, Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, was an Integrationist/Libertarian. That's why Clinton and Gingrich were allies on free trade, but opponents on welfare spending. George W. Bush is a moderate Integrationist/Libertarian. He is quicker to promote trade than social spending.
Thomas Friedman is a Integrationist/Social Democrat. He believes you have to implement a safety net to support the people not equipped for the information age to promote social stability. If you don't, an angry underclass will cause civil unrest. This is true in the international arena too. If we don't help Africa, the Islamic Middle East, and Central Asia catch up, their rising resentment will trigger a rise in terrorism.

Thomas Friedman is a proponent of globalization. Capital flows should be as free as possible. Capital flows reward good governance and punish bad one. However, he feels that the Electronic Herd should be reigned in by regulating the leverage traders can take on. His concern is the systemic risk resulting from the near failure of the hedge fund, Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) in the late nineties. If it had not been recapitalized by investment banks coerced by Allan Greenspan, LTCM failure could have disrupted the global capital markets.

This a truly outstanding work. I must have listened to the tape a dozen times and now I am going to buy the book! At first listen I thought it was OK but I hated the end and wondered whether Friedman was extolling imperialism. However, after listening to it again and again I find the work very profound. Excellent use of metaphor and the circular use of recurrent themes drive a very important message about the dichotomy of today's ideologies.
I think I understand globalisation better having listened to the tape. I think I understand better the forces behind global economics having listened to the tape.
What starts with an anecdote about oranges and ends with a call to stewardship adds up to a major contribution to understanding the hidden forces that link local and global forces.
Next time your stocks take a hit, just imagine that electronic herd grazing.

In one of the early seasons of "Saturday Night Live," Al Franken announced that the 80's would be "The Al Franken Decade." The notion was, more or less, that the world should and would revolve around... Al Franken. It's hard to read this book and not think of that skit, because the word "me" appears so frequently (and gratuitously). World leaders never just "say" things; they say them "to me." It's a construction clearly designed to enable Friedman to depict himself as an oracle whose advice is sought by a wide variety of famous folks. Parts of the book are prescient, especially Friedman's discussion of the potential for terrorism. Many of the "future is now" points are interesting and thought-provoking (although more than a few are already a bit dated). Unfortunately, the pompous approach often gets in the way. Several times during the book, Friedman goes so far as to write long speeches that represent things he claims people SHOULD have said, rather than words they actually spoke!

This is a wonderful book for understanding the globalization movement and the competing forces it generates. It is a very easy to read book with lots of anectdotes from Friedman's travels to illustrate his points.

Friedman shows how governments are affected by several forces - technology, foreign capital, outsourcing, and the concern for tradition at home. He also puts forth the necessary changes that government must make for dealing with these factors, such as transparency, education, free trade agreements, and development of both hard and technological infrastructure.

He invests time in showing that globalization is not what a lot of people immediately think of when confronted with the term - the Westernization, and in particular the Americanization of the rest of the world. Rather he shows that globalization is the system in existance for interconnecting the world and the its people. He points out having all of the world forfeit its culture to adopt to American culture would make the world a far poorer place and would result in even more backlash against the globalization system.

The weakpoint to me in this book is that he concentrates mainly on the Lexus side - the pursuit by people of material gain, and does not spend enough time on the Olive tree side, the desire to preserve symbolic and ancient rites, objects and ways of living. My views on this may be colored because I read this book recently while in the ultimate Olive tree part of the world, the Middle East.

Some of the other reviewers have commented that Friedman is repetitive in many of his assertations, and I do tend to agree with this point of view. Additionally, he sometimes strains too much to include technological themes in his writing, such as Capital 1.0, 2.0, 3.0. I found this to be somewhat off putting.

Overall, however, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It is a very good guide to understanding the different forces at work in the world. The overall theme and lesson of the book is globalization is here and is going to stay, and people need to adapt to that reality.

The most appealing quality of the book is Friedman's optimism. He believes that the inevitable sweep of globalization, and American leading role in it, will bring about positive change for the peoples of the world. There are at least two aspects to this process. First, with greatly increased communications (satellite TV, Internet, cellular phones) people are going to know the details of life in other countries. And it is Friedman's belief that having learned about a much higher quality of life, people are going to promote the governments that increase their standards of living. Second, the increased international economic activity (foreign investments, foreign trade, cross-border corporate ventures etc.) will create more economic opportunities. So the countries that open themselves to globalization will ultimately benefit from it economically. They are likely to have better labor laws, better finance regulations, more competitive and transparent companies and more qualified workers. Which will all lead to the raise in the quality of life. In addition, globalization is going to help protect environment. With increased transparency, corporations are less likely to engage in environmentally harmful activities, while consumers, now able to coordinate their actions through email, can force ecologically reckless companies to change their practices.
The second most enjoyable aspect of the book is the stories. Friedman talks about his conversations with many people in various countries who shape globalization and with the ones affected by it: from ministers, heads of state and CEOs to street vendors and taxi drivers.
Unfortunately, the globalization cheerleading of the bubble era leaves no room in the book for some critical thinking. In its current form, globalization is hurting quite a few people. And it is not just Americans loosing their jobs to Indians and Chinese. Take cotton farmers in Burkina Faso who are put out of business by sub-production cost American cotton supported by the enormous American cotton subsidies. Or consider South African sugar farmers who face imports from Europe, the worldwide largest sugar exporter, at 50% of the production cost.
The famous "Golden Arches" statement of the book, pointing out that no two countries hosting a McDonald's have ever been at war with each other, fails to provide insight. The fact that economic advancement and a strong middle class lead to a more stable world is intuitive enough. And McDonald's itself is not the answer to the world's antagonisms. Russia, with more than 100 McDonald's restaurants, has been waging the disastrous war in Chechnya. And the tragic 9-11 events were in a way mad people's reaction to a lot of what McDonald's represents.
The book fails to seriously address effects of globalization other then economic. When a South African girl does not want to be educated in her mother tongue but only in English, is it a sign that some part of her cultural inheritance is being lost? And when 85% of the movie audiences worldwide watch American movies, would a reasonable response be along the lines of France's "cultural exception", when through quotas foreign competition is limited?
To summarize, the book is rather descriptive than analytical or forward-looking. And from a reporter of Friedman's caliber one would expect more, especially considering that the NYT editorials, published on the opposite page from his column, are so opinionated about the future.

Thomas Friedman is not at fault for preaching the wonders of globalization, after all, much of what he says is widely accepted as the truth regarding how economies work. Overall, this books is about the inherit, and almost magical and invisible good power of globalization.

I took away only one lesson from this book, and that is the importance of education to maintain a competitive edge in the global economy. If a country wants to be competitive, it must have a well educated society, with skills and knowledge that can be "sold" to other countries.

May I recommend Bad Samaritans by Ha-Joon Chang. A much more objective book on free trade and globalization.

Freidman's "Lexus" was written at the height of the globalization trend and before 9/11. As such it's a good snapshot of the ideals that drove globalization and a decent primer on why free trade is still one of the important issues of the day.
Although a bit lightweight at times (it is a journalist's depiction after all), but very readable it's also still very relevant, even more so perhaps in a post-9/11 world full of "Clash of Civilizations" rhetoric. Free trade leads to intertwined economies and shared interests in the future. Economies build and produce what they do best in a perfect globalized world economy. Freidman is at his best when he points out globalizations benefits to the third world and the world in general.
The major criticism that can be leveled at "Lexus" is that Freidman downplays the negative side of globalization. But that isn't the point of "Lexus". It's strong pro-globalization cheerleading is firmly rooted in spirit in real world economics.
I find myself in agreement with Feidman's overall attitude, but hold a skeptical reservation for the negatives that can and do sometimes accompany globalization. While those negatives don't approach the apocalyptic baloney that the fervid anti-globalization crowd spews, they're real enough that they need to be addressed.

Globalization is a new international system with its own rules of logic, pressures and incentives that influence politics, environment, business, and economics in virtually every country; it is the dominant world system that shapes everything else. The new rules are so different from what has gone before and the different threads are intertwined in such a complicated manner that few understand them. Who would have thought that the 1997 collapse of the Thai currency would ultimately lead to the collapse of Long-term Capital Management in the US where two economists had won the Nobel Prize the previous year for their contribution to managing risk? The global market place has become an electronic herd of anonymous traders and investors connected by screens and networks; a herd that knows only its own rules and that will crush any one - and even governments - that stand in its way. Globalization is not a choice but a reality, but the problem is that no one is in charge.
Globalization is not new. Round I of globalization took place before World War I and was founded on cheap transportation. There was a period of relative calm until the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism triggered Round II which is founded on cheap telecommunications. We can now reach further, faster, cheaper and deeper than ever before. Previously non-tradable services such as accounting, telephone answering and engineering design can now be transferred to low wage countries; production, research and marketing can be located where strategically most advantageous. The Berlin Wall did not just fall in Berlin; other walls came down in other countries at roughly the same time. Three changes caused the walls to fall - how we communicate, how we invest and how we learn. These changes allowed Thailand to move from being a low wage rice producer to the world's second largest producer of pick up trucks and the 4th largest manufacturer of motor cycles in 15 years. These changes give individuals more power to influence markets and nation states than at any time in history - as occurred when investors brought down Indonesia's Suharto in 1998. These changes allowed Jody Williams to win the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for an international ban on land mines by organizing human rights groups by e-mail. These changes allow us to tune into almost any public or private TV station worldwide so we can now see and hear through almost every conceivable wall. These changes allow a company like Cisco to close its books within an hour and to operate without paper.
Lexus in the title stems from a visit to a Toyota car factory where 66 people and 310 robots produce 300 Lexus sedans daily. Lexus represents our drive for improvement, prosperity, modernization, and innovation. The Olive tree stands for stability, family values, and a sense of belonging. The anonymous, transnational, homogenizing, standardizing forces of the Lexus are the biggest threat to the olive tree. Our challenge is to find a healthy balance between the two while recognizing that competitive pressures oblige us to build a bigger and better Lexus every day. Globalization can be likened to a race that you have to run day after day after day. However many times you win, you still have to run again next day. If you lose by a fraction of a second it is as though you lost by an hour. By just entering the race you threaten the very existence of your own olive tree. By not entering the race you may not even be around to enjoy your olive tree.
We cannot hope to understand and manage globalization without reference to all its components and how they interact with each other. Friedman has provided us with a guidebook giving the various components of globalization and suggestions on how we might go about managing globalization. This book is essential reading whether you want to be a Lexus or an olive tree.

I read this fantastic book which really show many of the implications of the new world order: Globalization. The book is written in a simple style, comprehensible by everybody. However, I've read the book from both the lexus, which i felt was Friedman's favourite view and the olive tree, which represents my perspective. And i can say that Friedman's points, even very consistent is less empathical with the most important claims of the "olive trees people", which are also true. I liked the part of the book where he stressed the role that the US should be playing as a socialistic force. It should not only pour the developing countries with loans(that they will anyway never pay back! and just loose further to bad policies and inapropriate decision making). Rather, the US should be converting the debt/loans into valuable investments which might have greater benefits over developing countries and make sure that any ongoing projects will be performed properly. At the end, i fully agree with Friedman regarding the following fact: those who will get "aligned" in the most global sense with United States will definitely succeed. Those who will not, will be the loosers of the next century. The question remains: how a "meanless" developing country can balance the lexus and the olive tree, meanwhile even developed countries with all the means they got can hardly afford it! Again, Friedman's book is fantastic and poses real world issues.

Thomas Friedman loves his job, loves his worldly experience and most of all he loves globalization though he is far from a real authority on it. Once he leaves the confines of over-explained, basic, general ideas, his lack of expertise on geopolitics, economic development and intricate world affairs will leave many readers wondering and questioning his perspective more than learning from it. Though precious few people are experts in all or some of these complex areas, it doesn't take an expert to see the lack of scope in his conclusions and assertions.

His cheerleader style expose of the greatness of uninhibited, free market globalization (which we ironically do NOT have despite his claims) will sound a bit ethno-centric and naive to all but the most ethno-centric and naive. He does raise good points but these points are rather simple to understand without the need of a book. Where he takes these points isn't very far. Therein lies the book's major flaw in my opinion. The title itself is an interesting metaphor but like "the golden straight jacket" and "electronic heard" and his general post-cold war message, it is rather simplistic.

Overall, though he breaks into certain issues, he lacks global perspective and detailed analysis to clearly see them through. Strange from a man who travels the world so much. His constant championing of western positions and points of view are actually somewhat irritating and irresponsble for someone so "worldly". To suggest that the third world's problems are mostly the result of not doing things "the american way" is rather arrogant, narrow-minded and woefully inadequate. If the world was that simple, problems would have easy solutions and things would be much better for eveyone. It takes more than internet access, an email address, a cell phone and an embracing of "free markets" to cure the diverse people's of the world of their ills. Mr. Friedman should break up this book into several tomes and expand his ideas and actually challenge himself and the reader with more substance.

There is no doubt that the world is being homogenized. What is troubling however is that this homogenization has at its core the hegemonization of a single dominant culture. This "lexus"­(hegemonization) is at odds with what is central to the individual and to nations, the olive tree­(homogenization). When the hegemony of one culture, one country, or one area of the globe forces another culture, another country, or another part of the globe to conform to what the dominant culture considers important, conflicts arise. Freidman's book appropriately considers this conflict and address the balancing act by which the "lexus" and the "olive tree" can coexist, or at least live tolerably within the same place.

Perhaps the most provocative and disturbing concept that sprang out at me while reading this book was the sentiments of our global neighbors. Friend and foe alike see the United States as the "center of global arrogance". That is, when America projects its huge presence it does not go forth humbly. Reading this book will do nothing to assuage that notion. In fact, I would be first to nominate Friedman as Emperor of the United States of Arrogance.
In short, like most of the decidedly elite circles he travels in he simply knows what's best for everyone. And true to form he offers numerous contradictory assessments of the role government should play in every aspect of human interaction. He also seems to be oblivious to the fact that people around the world define themselves by more than just the size of their portfolios and investments. Amazingly he all but ignores the spiritual aspect of the human condition. The spread of religion could easily be looked upon as the original globalization, yet it doesn't seem to factor in for Mr. Friedman.
In the last section of the book Friedman chooses to lecture the reader rather than present more than one viewpoint on how we'll get to the promised land of Global Utopia. It backfilled the entire book with one contradiction after another. In defining the role the United States should take in leading the world into this new era of globalization Friedman asks us to listen to him think out loud. His idea of a Rapid Change Protection Plan or whatever he calls it makes the New Deal seem trifling by comparison. You might as well call it the Big Deal. He goes on to complain about the Clinton Administration getting off track with its power grab of the America's health care system as though there were nothing wrong with the plan itself but just in the way the debate was framed. In other words, if it had only been justified as necessary for America to integrate into the globalized, interconnected world then it would've been all too obvious. With that argument almost any power grab could be justified. How long before the airline business is declared vital to global integration and needs to be controlled by the government. Then what? How long before all the airlines are controlled by one global authority to ensure successful global integration. One World isn't inevitable; it may not even be possible, but there are a lot of people trying to push us there. Is Friedman one of them? I would have to say yes. He speaks nothing of the American constitution or of national sovereignty. He clearly believes that the free market model of the United States is the inevitable winner of the ideology wars, but he sees it as a global model, fully supporting the World Bank, the IMF, the WTO and a world tribunal. He states that it is time to put down the Green Berets and pick up the blue helmets.
The people standing in front of this speeding train oppose it vehemently but for widely divergent reasons. Violent protests are carried out whenever the WTO meets. Anarchists and environmentalists see consumption driven capitalism as the root of all evil. Big American labor, suppliers of the consumption fodder want protection from the cheap labor in the world's poor countries. Big business wants cheap labor and less government interference, seeing a borderless world as a plus. The markets just want profit.
The walls have come down, the floodgates opened and the world gets a little smaller everyday. If there is one point Friedman makes exceeding well is that the world is changing at a mind numbing pace. Some level of globalization is inevitable and even desirable. I just think we ought to reserve our sovereignty, honor our constitution and keep our guard up. Just like the fifty United States that serve as small experiments of democracy, so too are the nation states of the world small experiments of competing governing strategies. And just like Americans who enjoy the benefit of common standards and practices so too should the rest of the world. We may all be Americans but we are still Texans and Virginians, Minnesotans and Arizonans. The United States is not by any means a perfect nation; but we learn from our mistakes and have the ability to correct injustices. Despite the scorn from our friends and enemies as well as our own schizophrenic self-loathing America still serves as the beacon of freedom and liberty for the rest of the world. Tolerance of all cultures and religions is a must. I cannot imagine a One-World government dominated by the most populous (and murderous) nation on Earth adhering to the principles of freedom of speech and religion. China is as dangerous to freedom and liberty as anything we have ever seen since the birth of our nation. As Paul Harvey says, it is not one world.

The Lexus and the Olive Tree is a quick, entertaining read, filled with cute similies, amusing anectdotes and and pithy quotes from many interesting people and many corners of the world. Unfortunately, Friedman relies too heavily (almost entirely) on these tools to convey his points. There is a lack of serious analysis and consideration of context. Friedman admits in the opening chapter that he is new to his subject, and reached his understandings through "information arbitrage," i.e., by cobbling together small pieces of information on various subjects from various sources. It is not clear from his reporting that he did much careful study of the material, or that he developed any deep understanding of the serious subject that he attempts to explain. In too many instances the style he adopts comes across as glib and even condescending.
Friedman is an enthusiastic supporter of of the ruthless "creative destruction" of free-market economics, but champions the need to preserve and protect cultural idiosycrasies. He seems not to recognize that culture and economics are so inextricably intertwined as to be inseparable; that Russian miners (to be swept away) ARE a culture, and that small farmers in southern France (to be protected) are inefficient producers. Also, Friedman seems to regard globalization as an entirely international phenomenon. He fails to notice the entirely parallel process that has been taking place WITHIN the United States, largely in the last half-century. There was a time not too long ago when the cultures of New Orleans and Boston were almost as different as those of Boston and Bangkok. A discussion of how Appalachian coal miners and midwestern small-farmers have adjusted to their circumstances would have been completely germaine to his subject and much more familiar to most readers than the examples used.
In the end, Friedman offers his policy prescriptions for U.S. success in the globalized world. Unfortunately, they are so general and unimaginative as to be useless. Virtually everyone (even the 1994 freshmen Republicans that he derides) agrees that we should support relatively free markets, good education, a strong national defense and an adequate safety net. The hard questions are: How free is "relatively?" What constitutes "good?" How strong is "strong?" How much is "adequate?" And how much will it cost? The devil is in the details.
Lest this review be read as completely negative, I repeat that the book is lively, enjoyable, and entirely worth reading. Many of the anecdotes are poignant, and all reflect Friedman's interest in and feelings for the peoples and cultures of the world. As a collection of stories of globalization the book is right on target. It disappoints in its attempt to convey any deep understanding of the subject.

Thomas L. Friedman explains that the old world order of the Cold War has been replaced by a new paradigm of globalization. In this system, finance, information and technology are being democratized. The Lexus automotive brand of the title is the emblem of globalization. The Olive Tree stands for deep local cultural connections. The tension between globalization and cultural identity is the defining conflict of the new era. Friedman excels at making connections among diverse events and is a brilliant storyteller. He is particularly good at translating complex ideas into vivid, clear, colloquial language. His observations seem so simple that it is easy to miss how profound they are. His arguments seem almost irrefutable. He is basically optimistic and chooses not to dwell much on the dangers implicit in this new world. We recommend the book to everybody. Because Friedman draws heavily on his rich store of anecdotes this book is best appreciated in its full length.

Much like Tom Peters, Friedman spews forth what he thinks will rationalize for the world elite any action which improves their bottom line.
Unless you are among the world's 20% who own 80% of the worlds resources, or such a wannabe, save your self wading through this. Here is his message: 1. People, cities, nations and morality are irrelevant. It is the only the victims problem and responsibility if they starve, or are murdered, so don't waste time even thinking about this. 2. The bottom line is all that matters. 3. Start fighting your way to the top of the world social order pyramid before you get stuck with the growing majority lucky to have MacJobs and under constant threat of crime and murder.
My particular critique is his repeated use of his personal disappointments when he has his junkets to quaint locales spoiled by seeing some multinational fast food joint pop up.
His major error is tossing off that crime, lawlessness, and terrorism are isolated incidents that at their worse only harm the irrelevant and resources-less 80% of the population.
I trust Mr. Fiedman and his ilk, will be more than happy to step up to the plate with more of the same rationalization when multinationals clone people. This efficient market will no doubt be defended in making everyone of us unnecessary to the world of the elite.

For those seeking a superior canvass of the all-important issue of Globalization, "The Lexus and The Olive Tree" appears to be the best resource available at the moment.
This well-researched, highly opinionated work has some very insightful nuggets (I'm even less sanguine about my holdings in the market after reading it); however, the reader must slice his way through yet another " ... as he was telling me at the cafe" anecdote to get to the heart of the matter. A good 50 pages could be lopped, with little damage.
On balance, "The Lexus and The Olive Tree" remains a thoughtful, first-rate orientation to the pros and cons of what is probably the #1 issue of our time. Strongly recommended.

Friedman is such an enthusiast for the boom time of the 1990s. I think his book will stand out as one of the leading examples of American self-satisfaction. He never mentions America's trade deficit and dependence on foreign capital...and he probably underestimates the power and influence of what looks like a stock market bubble. Nevertheless his examples are thought provoking and very NOW. I think he overestimates the value of innovation and underestimates the value of being the best at producing goods. England is famous for innovation and not being able to produce goods and has been declining as an economic power for years. Maybe the current times are unusually rewarding for innovators.

T Friedman writes another interesting book that ultimately collapses intellectually because he never took the time to read what it was that Adam Smith concluded about free trade.The words " free Trade " appear on many pages of this book;unfortunately,Friedman doesn't understand what they mean in terms of Smith's system of thought.He appears to have substituted instead an " anything goes " libertarianism that is anathema to Smith.Free trade is merely the extension of the standard Smithian analysis about the process of wealth creation that starts with the specialization of labor(comparative advantage),division of labor,extension of the market,economic growth,and international trade(international comparative advantage).Smith pointed out that this process,at any level, has severe undepletable externality and spillover costs associated with it.He is very blunt:" Only government action can mitigate or reduce these costs".Any reader can simply turn to pp.734-735 of the Modern(Cannan)Library edition for confirmation.Friedman definitely needs to correct the present edition in the future

Globalization of economy is in fact Americanization of world culture - and both these processes are the reality of our times. Whether you like it or hate it - it is what is actually happening. The advantage of Friedman's unique approach to this problem is the fact that he, while intensively traveling as a journalist, has seen innumerous examples of this Globalization-Americanization by his own eyes. One could hate the inevitability of such processes and would love to dismiss his economical conclusions, but it is impossible not to believe those bright sketches the author constantly draws in our imagination - pictures of real people from all over the world, who just like everything American from McDonalds to Hollywood movies. Finally here is a book which does not just praise the American "presents" to the world: pop-culture, fast-food, and everything else usually being criticized, but shows, using economical patterns, that transformation of the whole world towards this culture is unavoidable.
One thing that this book lacks is discussing spiritual side of this transformation. Where does God fit in? How can God allow other cultures to be engulfed so easily by the American values? May be this is happening exactly because God helps America more than other countries and cultures? May be in surrendering to those external characteristics of American culture people of the world in fact surrender to overwhelmingly powerful spirituality of the America? May be God allows to impose American cultural values on other countries through the superpower of Hollywood entertaining machine exactly because that is how he wants to see the world in the future?

This is the one book concerning globalization that truly make sense of what is going on in the world.
The evening news may report the commotion in the overseas markets, but it does not explain how and why the commotion affects us, here in the US.
Thomas Friedman has made clear arguments as to why we MUST accept the coming interconnection of the world. He also makes convincing arguments for recommended changes in the way we do things, that will minimize the negative aspects on the American workforce.
We can either ignore the coming globalization and be swept away by the flood, or we can implement some of Friedman's suggestions and ride the tide.
If you are confused by world financial events you MUST read this book.
I am giving copies of this book to friends for Christmas.

In this account of Globalization, Friedman states that the free-flow exchange of technology, information, and finance is leading to a vastly inter-connected globalized world. On one hand lie the laisse-faire free for all, profit seeking, arbitrage exploiting optimists and marketeers and on the other lie the traditional, religious bound, skeptics. Written pre-9/11 this text accurately described the rift between the two viewpoints of modern advancement. However, Friedman failed to see the many nuances inherent in this globalized world, creating a market based catchphrase metaphor with little substaniary case studies to back it up. Having read this, pre 2001, it was very revelatory and perspectively macro-shifting for its time-period.

Thomas Friedman definitely has an impressive repertoire of experiences all over the world. His knowledge of "how the world works" is unique in that he's seen almost everything politically there is to see. Friedman began as a reporter for the NY Times in the middle East with firsthand experience of the Arab-Israeli conflict that never ends. Yet while his accounts of that experience (see "From Beirut to Jerusalem") were more a historical analysis, the Lexus and the Olive Tree attempts to explain how the concept of globalization affects countries economy and the general well being of humans.

But it's simply too repetetive. I felt that in every chapter Friedman was making the same point: that globalization leads to a better economy. That in order to succeed as a company, you need to fully expand, open yourself up to complete scrutiny, and--if you decide to start a new country--be sure to have a proper set of laws in place before you allow free market capitalism to reign. His "software vs. hardware" is a good analogy, but in general he makes up too many terms for phenomena he's seen around the world. The "global herd," "globalution," and "electronic sheep" are just a few examples.

His writing style is very amusing and makes for an easy read for the most part--until you realize that you're reading the same thing you just read in the last chapter. He has vast experience and a good objective view of the world, but he doesn't really talk enough about third-world countries and how they are often negatively affected by globalization.

Still, a highly recommended read if you're interested in seeing exactly how technology is affecting the way the world works, and the impact on those who fail to live up to the trend. To get a more updated view of how he thinks globalizaton will affect the world in the future, check out his new "The World is Flat."

All in all, Friedman's a great writer and you will not be disappointed from reading this book.

Even though this book is seven years old, I still found it to be a highly adept examination of globalization and a good primer for anyone who, like myself, has not read every tome on the growing global economy. Friedman is obviously an accomplished journalist and author, and brings these talents to bear on much of the book. I found myself pausing quite often to reflect on some of the theories he presented, like Golden Straightjacket, DOScapital, or - my favorite - the Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention.

This last concept serves as a perfect example for the intellectual tone of the book, and some of the debatable concepts. While he was on one of his many globetrotting expeditions, Friedman formed this theory from the observation that no country capable of a sustaining a McDonald's franchise had ever gone to war with another of similar standing. The theory is that by the time the middle class of a country is large enough to support a McDonald's franchise, there is too much for it to loose in terms of global trade capital, to risk a protracted war with another McDeveloped state. Of course, this theory has its adversaries, who often point to the US intervention into Panama or NATO's bombing of Serbia, but that healthy intellectual debate is exactly what makes reading this book so fun and thought provoking.

I only failed to give Mr. Friedman's book 5 stars, because in the end, I thought he could have made his point more succinctly. For, if we truly live in a global world, where we compete against everyone else on the planet, who has time to read a book of over 500 pages?

A very wide ranging book written by an experienced journalist about the dilemmas created as globalisation transforms the world around our local communities and cultures. He won two Pulitzer Prizes for his reporting as bureau chief in Beirut, and it is this background from which the analogy of the olive tree comes. He explains how his career has enabled him to slowly come to see the many different dimensions of globalisation, how they link, and what we can do about it. It is a very systemic perspective. (Thurow, Lester: Building Wealth is complementary to it. Korten, David: When Corporations Rule the World provides a 1995 counterblast. Any of the books and pamphlets by Robert Theobald and also Harman, W.: Global Mind Change provide creative ideas on how globalisation can be redirected to achieve societal ans well as economic ends.)
The book is in four parts.
Part one explains how to look at the system we call globalisation and how it works.
Part two is a discussion of how nation-states, communities, individuals and the environment interact with the system.
Part three is a good look at the backlash.
Part four is an even better look at the unique role of the USA in this new world.
To understand and convey the complexity of what is going on, Friedman believes that he had to learn to combine six dimensions or perspectives in different ways and weights to understand the systemic interrelationships at play and then tell stories in order to explain it. This is what he does in the book. He also identifies what he believes to be the key driving forces to globalisation and the conditions necessary for a society to succeed in a globalised world.
As an analysis of the multiple forces at play and their interaction, The Lexus and the Olive Tree could hardly be bettered, and the comment that we know about as much about the globalised world that is emerging as we did about the Cold War world in 1946 really resonates.
I am less satisfied with Friedman's prescription, which is essentially that rape is inevitable - and may be pleasurable - so we may as well relax and enjoy it. That both under-rates the very real dangers posed by a large group of potential losers and, more important, absolves us from the need to search creatively for a third way that places more emphasis on the human spirit and sustainability and less on money as such.
It is notable how much of the business literature is beginning to focus on ethics, spiritual values and moral and ethical obligations. It is also notable how rapidly the various movements to reshape the world around more fundamentally human values are building strength. The balance is not just, as Friedman seems to suggest, between globalised progress and separatist stagnation, but other options need creative development, based on wider values than those that motivate the 'electronic herd'.
The conspiracy theorists claim that global business is consciously trying to promote the 'inevitability' of a system that happens to suit them very well. They would probably claim that Friedman has fallen into their trap. Whatever the truth or otherwise of a 'conspiracy', I am left with Russell Ackoff's phrase ringing in my head - 'If we don't work to get the future we want, we will have to learn to live with the future we get.'
Recognising the strength of the forces that Friedman describes so well, that is perhaps the issue. Are we clear about what kind of world we want and are we prepared to work for it?

My primary problem with this book is that Friedman takes about 500 pages to say what could be said in 200. He repeats the same points over and over again and has, at times, a homogenious writing style that can be incredibly annyoying! Some editor was sleeping on the job for this one. In addition, the book seems to have a pro-globalization orientation and is full of personal anecdote - fine if you are looking to rationalize gloablization, but not if what you seek is a well-researched, balanced outlook. Outside of these two criticisms, the book is an "okay" intro to globalization and any techie, in particular, will enjoy the read as about 75 percent of the book covers history of computers and the Internet (as it relates to globalization). If you buy, prepare yourself for an excessively long read.

Obvious, folksy, self-involved, trite rehash of the current received wisdom of the 'global village' and the 'new economy'. A cynical attempt to (a) exploit this current "globalisation" bandwagon and (b) promote himself as a cool and well travelled guy Friedman. And regularly factually and/or conceptually incorrect. Real chicken-soup analysis. I'm upset with myself for having wasted money on this book. The pity is, when he sticks to journalism (e.g. Beirut-half of "From Beirut To Jerusalem") Friedman is a fine writer; it is when he tries his hand at commentary and analysis that it all comes horribly unglued.

This book provides a look at globalization and the world as it stands today. Not being a historian, this book does not delve very much into the history and development of globalization. So, if that is what you are looking for look elsewhere. Here is the history contained in the book in a nutshell:
1. The current "Post-Cold War System" (being defined for what it isn't, not what it is) has been replaced by "Globalization II". Globalization I was interupted in 1914 by WWI and did not resume until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
2. The current stage of globalization is largely the resut of the telecommunications revolution of the 1980s.
Once again, this is not a history book. It is written much more in the Op/Ed style (befitting of a journalist) and is largely based on Friedman's experiences and insights as a journalist. He has a few original (to my knowledge) theories that I feel will stick around (The Golden Strait Jacket, Golden Arches Theory, etc.) Overall a very insightful book and highly recommended for ease of reading. It didn't quite change my view of the world, but brought it more into focus.

If you're expecting something approaching the quality of "From Beirut to Jerusalem," you will be disappointed. That book was a masterpiece of reporting. That book told the story of one man's travels in Beirut and Jerusalem like no other before or since. This book tells... what story exactly? I'm not sure. Perhaps it's intended to be the story of the post-Cold War world, but it extrapolates that tale to the point that a better title might be, "What Thomas Friedman Thinks Will Happen Next."
Still, I enjoyed it. I recommended it to friends. It has shaped the way I see the world.