¶ … Lexus and the Olive Tree" by Thomas L. Friedman.
Book Review of "The Lexus and the Olive Tree," by Thomas L. Friedman
We begin our essay on this highly informative yet brilliantly written magnum opus with a certain reflection on the title of the book, "The Lexus and the Olive Tree." The Lexus in the book title offers a great deal of priceless smattering on the technological advancement that the constant and revolutionary process of globalization has brought along to our world where distinct cultures have evolved and national aspirations are sky-high. This cultural mix of identity, customs, traditions, conventional ways of functioning as a society and national ambitions as well as the traditional roots and stability is what the avid traveler has referred to as The Olive Tree.
In his wonderful and evidently triumphant attempt at the media and cyberspace world and current affairs, he advises his readers to strike a balance between the community values and strengths as well as functioning of global economy and the technological and economic requirements that have become necessities in reality. The author is of the view that no matter how we manage or perceive it, there is a dire need to comprehend the significance of balancing the community components as well as the technological elements. Both have to work together. Both are interdependent and perform parallel to each other towards the building up of a society.
From the introduction right up to page 305 of his masterwork, the author not only presents his logical thesis but also his supportive and side arguments and ideas and opinions that make a lot of sense. The rest of the book follows the same pattern but somehow seems to have lost the previous clear line of reasoning. By defining what globalization process is all about and providing detailed accounts of how this intricate process dictates the success of our society today by bringing about positive changes in life, the author puts forth his thesis that globalization is a system recognized worldwide and is solely responsible for replacing the Cold War system...
While Friedman may have provided a plausible explanation as to why the rush to join the globalization bandwagon, he, however, fails to explain the politics behind such policy actions of nation-states. That the more powerful, developed nation-states which have more resources at their disposal to turn international economic policies that influence domestic macroeconomic policies to their favor is lost in the author's discussion. He is keen to caution that
3. While globalization has the power to bring different countries together, it also involves a degree of cultural imperialism as the more powerful nations take full advantage of the opportunities presented while smaller nations find themselves treated more markets than as sources for goods. It is interesting, though, that many groups in the more powerful nations see globalization as a threat to their old way of life and as a
The discussion here remains open and this is one of the points where the author is merely raising a question rather than coming with a straight answer. One could argue here in favor of a positive globalization effect involving countries that joined the new economic world after a change of regime, using the example of Nokia. The company first moved with the production from Finland to Germany and this
As observed by no less a personage than Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2001 winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics "there needs to be a better balance between the role of markets and the role of government. Simplistic reforms based on free-market ideology don't work. The way that East Asia managed globalization, which combined an export-orientation with policies aimed at poverty reduction, worked even for the poor people. These countries did
In my opinion, there is no excuse for them not accomplishing the objectives they have been created to attain. 6. Regarding the economic situation and the context of the current financial and economic crises, things are not as clear as they are about environmental issues. In my opinion, the policies that must be implemented in the following period of time should take into consideration economic stagnation, and not economic evolution. The
Third, massive investments should be made in research and development of alternative sources of renewable energy. This will positively impact not only the environment, but also the socio-economic conditions of numerous international players. Relative to the financial crisis, this should be addressed from its roots -- the real estate and credit crisis. In this line of thoughts, the mortgages should be bought by the U.S. Government, rather that having the
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