Michael Dolan Dot Com

Wednesday, August 24th, 2005

The World Really Is Flat!

I just finished “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman. I knew the premise of the book before buying it and I must admit it was still an eye opener. America lives in a different world and as I look around at my friends, family, and younger crowds I think they are in for a different life. If not this generation, by the next the wealth of the world will undergo a substantial redistribution. Thomas Friedman presents the reality in such a compelling context. Some of his political views spill in at times… but on the whole an absolute must read for everyone in the U.S.

However, I also wondered about a few basic economic theories that seem overlooked. First, there’s a number of theories on leisure time (i.e. as you make $100 more, you are more likely to spend more $ on leisure activities). I didn’t really see him address this issue. Second, I’m not sure the impact of the U.S. economic infrastructure and ecosystem were a bit undervalued. Aside from these two concerns, I absolutely believe this is a major issue for this country and we need to wake up. I found the comparison of U.S. and Chinese political leadership very compelling. We have [insert reference for idiot here] running the country who have legal backgrounds and maybe majored in English Lit. In China, their leadership is comprised of engineers and technologists who will find a way to leverage technology to gain ground. The leg race has already started and we’re still tying our shoes.