Impact of the Worlds Flatness - Essay Example

The flat world is here to stay and has conquered both time and distance.   Discussion Thomas Friedman is a thinker and futurist par excellence, as his book ‘The World is Flat (2005) clearly shows. In the book, Friedman makes out a compelling case for a series of revolutions that have transformed the world to be what it is today.  Friedman states that the availability of the internet and digital technology at a cheaper rate has enabled developing nations like India to compete with Americans for jobs in the service sector. In the coming days, the author argues excellently that most of the world's manufacturing will be handled by China, which we can see increasingly in evidence if we look at the manufacturer’s label on most of our household electronics and appliances. This has already pushed China to be in line with the USA and Japan as one of the world’s largest economies (Friedman, 2005).    Commenting recently in his ever-popular column in the New York Times, Friedman argues now that the World is Full. Scientists have calculated that we are presently using up the Earth's resources (especially in China) at the rate of 1.5 times the available supply. It does not take much to reason out the damage this is doing to the carbon footprint. The Australian environmentalist and entrepreneur Paul Gilding is arguing that with the paucity of resources and rising prices everywhere, we could be heading for another crisis. The answer lies in population control and killing off the consumerist economy. When we have lesser mouths to feed, we will do better in providing jobs. The world’s resources and ecosystems will be in balance, food prices can be controlled and we can better handle the vagaries of weather and crop protection.     Conclusion It all makes sense when we see how things are connected. We see not only how things are, but what we have to do to get out of a crisis. President Obama heaved a sigh of relief as he announced that a deal on increasing America’s debt ceiling had finally arrived on Monday, just one day before the deadline (Washington Post, 2011). However, the euphoria may be short-lived and credit rating agencies may still downgrade America’s status. Manufacturing growth rates are still at a low. There is a strong case for the Euro to take over as the world’s next major currency. They have worked hard to make it work for the EU bloc and despite the problems in Greece, Portugal, and Spain, are working overtime to see that its acceptability and status are retained.    Read More