The World is Flat

The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century is a best-selling book by Thomas L. Friedman analyzing the progress of globalization with an emphasis on the early 21st century. It was first released in 2005 and was later released as an "updated and expanded" edition in 2006.

Friedman believes the world is flat in the sense that the competitive playing fields between industrial and emerging market countries are leveling. Friedman recounts many examples in which companies in India and China are becoming part of large global complex supply chains that extend across oceans, providing everything from service representatives and X-ray interpretation to component manufacturing. He also describes how these changes are made possible through intersecting technologies, particularly the Internet. Friedman criticizes those who resist these changes, arguing that global change is inevitable. He also warns that companies that are now part of a supply chain may eventually want to build a supply chain of their own. As he puts it, "they are racing us to the top." The World is Flat is part global reporting, part theory and reflection about how the world got here and what the ramifications are for education, government policy and readers.
In Chapter 11, "The Unflat World," Friedman discusses his philosophy of history: "I am a technological determinist! . . . I believe that capabilities create intentions. . . . But . . I am not a historical determinist". He notes that there are still three billion people who still live in an "unflat world" unaffected by the technologies and socioeconomic changes, sometimes caused by poverty. He addresses what these three billion people--as well as their governments and the world's businesses--need to do in order to join the "flat world."