Friedman analysis

Ben Lachmann

GBL 250- Hughes

April 9, 2008

Sort it out

            As globalization takes its toll, and spreads to all corners of the world, what a Friedman calls a flattening of the world will occur. Jobs not possible in remote areas a decade ago will be made possible through the IT revolution. Tiny countries with little say in the world will turn into economic titans, and the great empires of yesteryear will be humbled by the new age of technology. A prime example of this is India. India is chalk full of intelligent, educated, ambitious graduates that work for pennies on the dollar. In a world revolving around money, the primary concern of business’s today is low cost and efficiency. Now, before the IT revolution, it did not matter if the Indians possessed all of these traits, employing foreigners abroad was nothing short of impossible; communication was costly and slow, industries relied on personal interaction, and who knows where India is, anyway! Now, everything has changed. In a heart beat, some one in the United States can communicate with any one, anywhere in the world. Now, the evening of the playing field can take effect.

Suddenly, cheap, efficient foreign labor is opened up for business, and companies begin shifting to outsourcing-centered employment to slash costs and reap the benefits. Jobs that were once considered a symbol of American prowess will flow into other countries. This will continue to happen all over the world in every industry imaginable. As outsourcing becomes easier and more cost effective, the less businesses will feel confined to their home country. The results of this are astounding. More and more jobs will flow into the areas with cheap labor, and consequently, more and more jobs will flow out of the costlier areas until the economy evens itself out. The ease of hiring a foreign worker at a lower cost will create a surprising change in the way the world interacts. Increasingly, business will be driven by low cost and high margin profit until all businesses begin to resemble the practices of Wal-Mart.

This is where globalization begins to show its dark side. Friedman says that we will be tormented by the clashing parts of our identity. As Wal-Mart consumers, we all want the cheapest products possible. To accomplish this, all the middlemen and expensive friction must be eliminated. As Wal-Mart shareholders, the elimination of this is even more highly sought after to make higher profit margins. Therefore, the company cuts costs and eliminates frivolous expenditures, because the company is ultimately driven to the consumer wants. This seems to benefit all; however, as Wal-Mart employees, this means pay cuts, reduction of benefits, and loss of status. The employee becomes cheap labor. Americans, being lovers of capitalism, are surprisingly shocked when their jobs are moved abroad and their social benefits are reduced to a minimum. Here the State will come into question. Finally, citizens will want to protect their high-paying jobs and keep what Friedman calls “frictions.”

So where do we draw the line in the sand? Globalization is always weighed carefully with the expense of sovereignty, and Americans will look to the State for answers to their economic down-spiral. Americans obviously want to remain at the top of the latter, and will try to fight futilely against the flattening of the world, holding on to as many frictions as possible. But as globalization continues, and trade reigns supreme, a shift in power will be inevitable. A global economy will emerge, without allegiance to any Nation State, pursuing maximum profit. It is going to “reshape political identities, recast political parties, and redefine who is a political actor,” (Friedman, 201). The political realm will move slowly to an international world order.