The experiences and gathered wisdom
of Thomas Friedman are shared in his book The World is Flat. In this
book he asserts that the different metamorphosis of time in relation to
business and globalization can be divided into three main categories.
Globalization 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. The first, globalization 1.0 is the time from
when Columbus set sail to reach the Indies by traveling west. Of course we know
that he did not end up finding the Indies to buy spice, but ended up in the
Americas where he found the American Aborigines. Friedman calls this
globalization 1.0 because from Columbus to around 1800 countries were
globalizing. Trade between countries was becoming common and even relied upon
in most cultures.
Globalization 2.0 covers the time
between the 1800s and about the year 2000. This is what Friedman defines as the
time when companies globalized. As countries had already established trade
conditions and trade between them had advanced to go past diplomatic and
political ideals and into companies dealing with one another without the aid or
hindrances of countries.
We have just entered the era of
globalization 3.0. And this appears to be where Friedman and his wise
observances come into use. Globalization 3.0 is when individuals have finally
entered global trading. Globalization 3.0, Friedman says, allows “individuals
to collaborate and compete globally” in what he calls a flat world platform. This flat world that he often refers to is
that the “playing field” or advantages have been made flat, or fair or even for
everyone.
In this flat world platform that Friedman asserts the fall of the Berlin
Wall in 1989 has such a ripple effect on the world that it is felt all of the
way to India and China. The fall of the wall tipped the level of power from the
socialistic and communistic rule to the “democratic, consensual,
free-market-oriented governance and away from those advocating authoritarian
rule with central planned economies.” This profound and public move symbolized
to everyone in a single generation the breaking of barriers and the
establishment of liberties that continue to have dramatic affects on politics,
economy, fashion and cultures.
The importance of the story of the
move of Netscape to go public must be coupled with comments regarding the
product of the Internet. As much as the magnanimous invention of the Internet
by Berner’s-Lee, the internet would be basically useless without the invention
and public use of internet browsers.
Internet users went quickly from
states of amazed anticipation of what the internet could do and provide to
expected anticipation in which they no longer were typically surprised and
thrilled with what found, but rather now internet users expect to find prompt
and reliable access to information that would have taken weeks or months in the
Globalization 2.0 era.
How quickly the human race evolves
once given a chance. Just looking at our own history, it is easy to see that
once simple barriers are broken and passed, there are always going to be new
barriers and hurdles to overcome. The human race is always attempting to find
the next limitation so that they can try to find a way to conquer and benefit
from their learning. As much as Friedman’s book is about the study of
globalization, all of this can be easily attributed to the competitive spirit
of the human race.
No comments:
Post a Comment