Chapter 4: The Great Sorting Out

Now that all the convergences are out, and technologies are floating around, doing their thing and making the world flatter, Friedman decides that he'll flip things, and present a few of the issues that are being brought up in this flat world. Great. Just when I thought the flat world would be perfect. Should have known better than to expect a perfect world, flat or not.

Friedman basically follows the argument of Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels in the Communist Manifesto. Basically, the argument is this: as the world becomes flatter, and boundaries are erased, and barriers are broken, what will be left? Will there even be order? Marx's answer is that without these "frictions" as they're called, the world's workers will rise up and revolt, thier eyes opened to the oppression that they are enduring. It's what Friedman calls a "proletarian revolution."

Friedman cites 6 isues that arise because of flattening. The first issue (India Versus Indiana: Who Is Exploiting Whom?) is that political agendas will be confused by the increased global collaboration, due to the fact that they are used to lobbying for jobs for thier local constituents. Conflicts of interest occur as outsourcing and offshoring are protested, saving jobs for locals but meanwhile costing local businesses and taxpayers. The second issue (Where Do Companies Stop and Start?) is that with so many companies outsourcing, offshoring, and simply operating in so many countries around the world, companies may start to lose thier national identity. A country may be based in America, but if the majority of thier business is done outside of the country, or if its officers are of foriegn origin, how can you truly classify this as an American company? The third issue (From Command and Control to Collaborate and Connect) is simply that with so much information available so readily, one person can do the job of 2. Friedman says it well, "Your boss can do his job and your job." You'll have to work harder now to stay ahead. Get to it. The fourth issue (Multiple Identity Disorder) is that with people expecting more for less, we are being put through a cognitive dissonance in that our "customer" side wants lower prices, better service, and better products, while our "employee" side wants better wages and better benefits. Unfortunately, companies cannot provide both. Friedman describes a nice story about the difference between Wal-Mart's operation and that of Costco. Although, Costco products cost more than Wal-Mart products, Costco provides it's employees better benefits sooner, even at a cost to its profits. It just shows the difference between where those companies priorities lie. The fifth issue (Who Owns What?) is all about intellectual property. The flat world will encourage the sharing of information, but the traditional world will resist, determined that it needs to know who made it and who owns it. Finally, the sixth issue (Death of the Salesmen) is about the difficulties that are created for those who feel they need a more intimate human bond. The virtual networks that are beaing created by the Internet and programs such as Skype are eliminating the once informal parts of business. All the "fat" is gone. So what's left? And do we really want to partake in that type of feast?