The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization

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Summary: Freidman's self-justification for supporting the system
Review: Friedman typifies the ignorance of America during the present conflict dividing West & East. His writing seeks neither self-reflection nor understanding; rather, he writes with such persuasion and self-righteousness that it is enraging. As a firm believer in liberal ideals I don't see how anybody can be so uniterested in truth and justice. Freidman manipulates his own 'experiences' (if you can even call them that) to promote his arguments, and has the audacity to dismiss all counterarguments as simply the work of 'halfwits', and claims that, 'after all, every 'civilized' individual would want to be admitted into a system that benefits a select few' (????!!!!!). COME ON! It is outrageous to overlook the concrete truth that there are still people living on this earth today that have NO desire to be consumers, or globalizers,among other things. Freidman's righteousness,although confused with wit, speaks of the unwillingness and disinterest of Americans (including intellectuals)to engage in real communication - i.e. listening to and respecting CULTURE in its many forms. I am embarrassed to think that people have been able to overlook the terrifying ignorance of such writing.

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Summary: Essential For An Understanding Of Our World
Review: Thomas L. Friedman has produced a readable but not superficial work which helps its readers grasp the complicated world we now inhabit. He has a gift for creating analogies which make clear extremely unclear concepts. His "Five Gas Stations", for example, is the best explanation for the many different cultural/economic systems now extant that I've come across. The book was written well before 9-11 but has some chilling predictions and discussions about the potential for such actions and their consequences. For this uncertain and frightening world, Friedman offers insights, warnings, and reassurances.

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Summary: a journalist's viewpoint
Review: Short and Sweet:
Read this if: 1) you like what Friedman has to say in his columns in the New York Times; 2) you want to understand the viewpoint of those opposed to globalization in its present form but who generally think that globalized free trade can be managed in a way that will lift all boats -- it's useful as a constructive criticism that can engage those who are horrified by street protests. Don't read this if: 1) you are continually amazed by Friedman's western bias and simple thinking in his columns; 2) you have no interest in getting off of the streets.

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Summary: Biased
Review: I read this book for an International Politics class. This book made me understand the pro-globalization perspective. It was very biased and anyone who does not understand globalization can easilly be persuaded by Mr. Freedman's statements. When I read "Globalisation Unmasked" By James Petras & Henry Veltmeyer, I got a different and more realistic picture of globalization.

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Summary: Great way to get up to speed on Globalization.
Review: This book breaks down the concept of Globalization into terms that anyone can understand. Friedman is a reporter for the New York Times, and much of the book is filled with anecdotes of interviews with the citizens of the world.

You end up with many perspecives, both good and bad, of Globalization. It is interesting to see how the world is gearing up to be interconected.

Friedman does a great job conveying his mesage and keeping the topics interesting.

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Summary: Globalization: Dream Come True or Nightmare?
Review: If there is one truth that should stay with everyone who reads Tom Friedman's book about Globalization it is that this trend is going to go forward no matter what. Countries and individuals are going to have to learn to adapt and shape themselves to it, otherwise the alternative is they will be run over like a freight train.

Globalization is a new system, a new world order, that according to Friedman began about 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell and the Cold War which had been going on since 1945 ended abruptly. In the Cold War Era countries could get away with badly run and inefficient economic systems. For example, most third world countries could count on foreign aid from either the USA or Soviet Union to buttress up shaky, inefficient economies. Europe and the United States could justify trade barriers and subsidizing inefficient sectors of their economy on the basis that it was necessary to "fight the spread of communism". In the past, foreign trade and exports were a much smaller factor in GDP.

With the collapse of communism and the birth of the information economy, inefficiency is no longer maintainable in national economies. People can overseas to other countries to get products that are badly made or too costly. Companies that make expensive and poor quality goods will be run out of business rapidly. Computers, the internet, and cell phones make it far easier to locate cheaper sources of goods and to establish trade relationships anywhere on the globe.

Some countries which are poorly suited to compete in such an economy are bound to pay dearly. The Arab world, much of Africa, and parts of South America seemed destined for extremely difficult times in attempting to adapt to such a system. Other countries such as the USA, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Great Britain and Italy have done and may continue to do surprisingly well.

Government must accept a new role in such an economy. Rather than establishing elaborate welfare schemes, it must take on the role of training workers for jobs in the new economy, eliminating trade barriers, creating the conditions for better competition, and making market information available.

It will be a trying time for many, but it cannot be avoided. It can only be shaped through public awareness.

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Summary: A global eye-opener
Review: The Lexus and the Olive tree is a broad explanation of the twin forces pulling for and against globalization. One extreme is the Lexus, symbolic of automation and modernization. The other extreme is the Olive Tree - symbolic for the local fights. Friedman presents Globalization as an inevitable trend, where the Lexus is winning, with some pullback from the Olive Tree.

The model presented is a complex one, more complete than presented in many scholarly texts. Part of the pressure for globalization comes from a global herd of investores moving their money from country to country. There's also an information dimension, where CNN can broadcast daily around the world. Cultural influences are brought in as well. Ultimately governments are forced into "plugging in" to globalization and it's rules because the global investment community will withdraw capital from governments that are poorly run.

Why is this relevant? People from the "Olive Tree" camp are rapidly pushing globalization back. It's important to understand why this is wrong. It's also important to know how we can improve the lot of poorer nations by integrating them to the world economy. Enfrachising poorer peoples is a much more effective (and perhaps inevitable) way of dealing with terrorism today than building barriers.

Consider the source - Friedman is the long time foreign affairs correspondant for the NY Times, and has lived abroad (including Jerusalem and Beiruit) for much of his life. His writing is relatively unbiased, and presents a balanced view.

Any weak links?
- The book presents globalism as an inevitability, but history is proving him wrong. Global foreign investment is actually going down.
- Some governments (notably Malaysia and Chile) have successfully bucked the global investment community, which Friedman says shouldn't happen.

All in all it's still a very enlightening book, especially in a time when the world is getting smaller every day.

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Summary: Lacks perspective
Review: I am about 25% of the way though Friedman's book on Globalization. I am having real trouble finishing it.

So far, he is basically offering his personal experiences as "proof" of his concepts of globalization. He states a premises and then goes on to establish proof through his experiences or by the experience of one of his buddies. He makes the classical mistake of extrapolating a few personal experiences of people who are experiencing globalization to prove a general point. He makes pontifical and dismissive statements about key historical issues without referencing any experts or historians as if it were his theory. Friedman is not an economist, a political scientist and he is clearly not objective. I would no more assume Friedman had a general understanding of globalization than a sailor in the battle of Midway understanding the strategic perspective of Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher.

He wrote this in the exuberant time before the bubble burst and was clearly caught up in it all. The book totally lacks perspective. He probably thought he was an investment genius at the time too.

I may have a different opinion of him and the book when I am done, but for the moment his is a pontifical windbag who offers very little in the way of real information. His lack of historical perspective, failure to reference objective experts (I would like to check his sources) and pontifications are very irritating to me.

You might want to read this book simply to see what others think (the book is widely read). It also has value if you would like to hear stories of Friedman's experience with globalization and perspective on it, but take it with a grain of salt. He does almost no analysis, has little in the way of credible references and his anecdotal style gets very boring even after reading just 25% of the book.

The saddest thing about this book is others will see this windbag as an authority and take him as gospel.

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Summary: Readable and Intelligent Introduction to Globalization
Review: I have been reading several books about globalization and I find Friedman's text to be both enjoyable and insightful. The book argues that "globalization is everything and its opposite." By this Friedman seems to saying that globalization has an extremely wide reach and includes politics, culture, technology, finance, national security, and ecology. Additionally, I think he is saying that globalization can be harnessed to bring about good or it can be allowed to benefit the few at the cost of many. It empowers good and ill intentions equally. As a result of the broad reach and empowerment, globalization must be shaped--today!--if we are to create a sustainable system. In the end, Friedman is a hopeful globalist. He sees the shift away from a cold-war system, to a global system, as essentially irreversible. Consequently, he ends the book by discussing (quite generally) how we can take a more active role in shaping the global system.

Friedman's style is clearly journalistic rather than academic. Many of his examples are anecdotal and the book is filled with analogies and metaphors. For these reasons, I think the book makes an excellent introduction to the topic. Though the anecdotes and quotes may not create an unshakable foundation for any individual argument, over the course of the book I came to realize that Friedman has tremendous experience and insight because of his work as the foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times. He sees globalization in very broad terms. I think we can learn quite a bit from Friedman's broad perspective and, when considering the book as a whole, I am inclined to appreciate the broad perspective rather than criticize it.

Throughout the book you are introduced to a range of interesting theories and comparisons. Maybe the most famous theory is the Golden Arches Theory of conflict. We find numerous comparisons to Michael Jordan and the NBA when explaining the USA as a hyperpower and our necessary relations with the rest of the world. These are but two examples of how Friedman takes a complex and important topic, and makes this topic readable, entertaining, and informative. The most important symbols, however, are found in the title. The Lexus represents the globalized, high-tech world while the olive tree represents that little bit of home and tradition we all love and refuse to let go of. The tension between global and local interests forms the centerpiece of this book.

I think this book might be an ideal starting point for learning about globalization. If you start with Friedman's book, however, I suspect you may not want not stop here. There are other texts that take a more thorough and scholarly approach to the topic. Reading this book will provide you with enough information to move on to other texts or have a better understanding of many current issues. And what more can we ask for from a nonfiction book? Intelligent, entertaining, and well written. I have to conclude that "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" is a good read.

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Summary: Bird's eye view
Review: Very interesting perspective on the different currents shaping global society. Makes a good textbook for an introductory international business class as it is interesting and racy. However, it certainly needs to be supplemented with different view points and perspectives, including research. I recommend "Multinational corporations in political environments: Ethics, values and strategies" by U. Haley as a supplement to "Lexus and the olive tree" to obtain a more balanced understanding of globalization and diverse constituencies.