Book is obviously very outdated now being written in the year 2000. However, it is interesting to see what the author thinks the future will look like and compare it to the world of 2024. Some things he gets bang on others never come to fruition. Thomas Friedman is an obvious liberal which can make some of his ideas seem pie in the sky. He ‘brags’ about a lot of the places he has travelled to does so discreetly by using them as examples. It comes across arrogant. I would only say read this book if you are a Thomas Friedman fan, otherwise here as some of my favorite quotes;

"The book is an effort to explain how this new era of globalization become the dominant international system at the end of the twentieth century - replacing the Cold War system - and to examine how it now shapes virtually everyone's domestic politics, commerce, environment and international relations."

“So the Lexus represents technology and computers and stuff. And the olive tree represents community and family and things like that.”

"Those countries that are most willing to let capitalism quickly destroy inefficient companies, so that money can be freed up and directed to more innovative ones, will thrive in the era of globalization. Those which rely on their governments to protect them from such creative destruction will fall behind in this era."

"What is information arbitrage? Arbitrage is a market term. Technically speaking, it refers to the simultaneous buying and selling of the same securities, commodities or foreign exchange in different markets to profit from unequal prices and unequal information."

"As important as television and satellite dishes have been to democratizing information, the spread of the internet topped them all. The internet is the pinnacle of the democratization of information: no one owns the internet, it is totally decentralized, no one can turn it off, it can potentially reach into every home in the world and many of its key advances were done by collaboration among individuals - many who have never met each other - who worked together over the network, contributing their ideas for free."

"John Chambers of Cisco likes to sat that the companies and countries who will thrive in this internet economy are those who will grasp its importance first, and get wired before the rest of the world realizes that they have to change."

"The Golden Arches Theory states that not two countries that both had a McDonalds have fought a ware against each other since each got a McDonald’s. Armed with this data, I offered up the Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Preventions, which stipulated that when a country reached the level of economic development where it had a middle class big enough to support and McDonald’s network, it became a McDonald’s country. And people in McDonald’s countries didn’t like to fight wars anymore, they referred to wait in line for burgers.”

“Finally, an exasperated Gates said to the reporters; look, of course they’re a bubble, but you are all missing the point. This bubble is going to attract so much new capital to the internet industry that it is going to drive innovation faster and faster.”

“Another reason globalization is east to distort is that people don’t understand that it is largely a technology-driver phenomenon, not a trade-driven on. We had a receptionist at the Washington Bureau of the New York Times, but the company eliminated her job. She didn’t lost her job to a Mexican, she lost it to a microchip – the microchip that operates the voice-mail device in all our office phones.”

“While it is the engine of greater long-term prosperity for every country that plugs into the globalization system, it is also the engine of greater dislocation in the short run. And it is not enough to tell a factory worker who has suddenly lost his job to a lower-wage factory abroad that, while unfortunate, our society as a whole is better off because it can now purchase the steel or tennis shoes he once made at a cheaper price. It is not enough to tell the office worker whose job has been phased out because of the installation of a new computer system that, while unfortunate, our society as a whole is better off because it will be much more productive with that new network system installed.”

“These shorts of initiatives say citizens’ While today’s globalization system is asking you to leap from trapeze to trapeze, higher and higher, faster and faster, father and farther, the government is not going to just let you fall to the jingle floor and be eaten by the lions of globalization. While it won’t give you a handout anymore, it will give you a hand up. Even if we waste some money on these hand-up programs, the costs are so small compared to the benefits and efficiencies that come from keeping our markets as free and open to the world as possible.”

“The internet and computers are just tools – wonderful tools that can extend and expand one’s reach enormously. But you still need to know what to grasp and how to get the best out of them. These tools can help you think, but they can’t make you smart. They can browse and search but they can’t judge.”

It's a big world. While America is a part of it, we're no longer the only part of it - and union workers like the UAW and incompetent management like that of GM need to realize that they've priced themselves and their lousy products out of it. Oh yeah...and thankfully the Chinese, Japanese, and Taiwanese are a part of it also...America needs to borrow a lot of money from them in order to stay afloat.

As the weasels on Wall Street continue to rape America's pocketbook, this book is well worth reading to show how we are now only a cog i nthe world financial system.

Interesting read, slightly outdated though.

friedman has a realistic point of view of the world, but comes from a purely capitalistic mind frame. he has a good perception of how the world works, but then resigns himself to dealing with it by saying 'this is how it is; things will never change.'
what sux is that he points out all the bad crap that happens from free-mkt globalization, and instead of offering good social net solutions, says 'it is what it is, so either play the game this way, or you lose.' nothing about how the rules of the game are ridiculous because they're based on comsumption and greed. nothing about how the rules should be changed or the game should be played.
realistic, but fatalistic, though, potentially i'm the one who's being a hopeless idealist.

It must have been close two decades since I read this book, therefore can not offer a comprehensive critique about it, but as usual Friedman presents his narrative in the most engrossing manner offering his unique perspectives and analogies - the title The Lexus and the Olive tree itself is a testament to this.

If I can remember right, the Lexus is the sought after vehicle that is symboluc of a new class of yuppies (my words not his) that the digitalized world that is flat, according to the narrative of his other book, has produced who works for mega corporations like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and the likes, that operates across international borders as if they don't exist, creating platform and app based economies of scale, where as the Olive Tree represents the tradional Nation States with physical boundaries to which these actors both mega corporations and the IT workers that drive Lexuses belong to.

Fast forward twenty years to the current day, the rise of Corporate Executives like Sundar Pichai, Sathya Nadella, etc to the global stardom, and even Rishi Sunak who is married to one of the heirs of the Indian IT firm Infosys, that left the British people questioning if he was working for the British tax payer or for Infosys as their non-elected Premier, prior to Starmer, cast some serious doubts if Friedman's analogy is correct, especially when even a succesful mediocre IT worker in a big IT Company owns several Mercedeses or BMWs for that matter. Same is true for other skilled migrants like doctors, lawyers, and engineers. Lexus is hardly a vehicle symbolic of them. Few years as a specialist professional, some of them drive Porches.

However in Friedmans defence this was close to 30 years ago, and aforementioned examples, who have added a new layer of successful yuppies, may be the exceptions and not the norm. In any event its the message the analogy conveys that is important not the factual accuracy if symbolism used.

I use the word yuppies for a purpose as my recent personal experiences have shown, this is a class of people, despite their economic and professional successes, seem to have questionable moral and ethical values, hence practices, jeopardising the very electronic and digital systems that have brought them their wealth and success; and made life so much easier for the masses in general.

I do not wish to go into length explaining my above stated opinion as there's plenty of material to write about, including case studies, involving some of the aforementioned individuals and the entities that they work for, but not limited to them.

How they could be bribed to do the most horrific things with money and sex, indicating the underlying rather primal primary drivers of their actions; greed, lust, and envy, in criminal proportions.

This is hardly the space to delve into the topic in detail. There however is material enough for a good book, if Mr. Friedman (or anyone else for that matter) is interested and still in the habit of writing, as I have not kept abreast with his career, who if my memory serves right, back in the day was often featured on CNN.

That said what I wanted to highlight was something else. A message, the good author, Friedman, leaves the reader with, at the very end of the book. Well, now I am not certain if it's in this book or his other book I read around the same time, titled The World Is Flat, that contained this message, which I found a little puzzling to say the least. Since this book 'The Lexus and the Olive Tree' gets the benefit of the doubt, I'll state it here below.

Mr. Friedman at the very end, in passing, refers to the US, as the epitome of success of this brave new globalized, digitalized, flat world, and the success of this Olive Tree becoming such a phenomenon, he, if my memory is right, and in my own words, attributes to the branding of United States of America, creating and building an image for it, thus a loyalty, following, and a community that goes beyond its national borders, or the Olive tree, attracting all the best of the best people, workers, and corporations to its shores or the sphere of influence and ownership; but quite ironically advocating other countries to rally around their Olive Trees and focus on the Olive Tree identity, without trying to emulate the success story of the USA!

I thought that was quite disingenuous of him when the formula for success for the US has been to build an identity that goes beyond its nation, an identity that any wannabe yuppie anywhere in the world, who aspire to drive a Lexus, could, or want to relate to, to suggest that other nations in order to succeed should do exactly the opposite, and strengthen their national identities symbolized by the Olive Tree in his title.

This was the message I took home after reading this book!

Why this contradictory message, I still haven't got a clue, but beginning to think that part of the US strategy to stay ahead of this globalised, digitalized, flat world is to ensure that no others rise to the heights that they have risen; in fact any competitor is actively suppressed, and even sabotaged, nations as well as individuals, especially if they are not white in their skin colour, and does not pray to the same God, in whose name and ideology the United States and its constituion is founded upon.

Was Mr. Friedman knowingly or unknowingly subscribing to this policy when he penned that brief narrative, that was not longer than few paras if at all, in his book, I still wonder after two decades...?

I read this a few years ago but just now getting to this review. Tom Freidman is a superb writer. Most books about the history and politics of the Middle East seem to be very "textbook" style. Friedman's style is almost conversational. I could imagine him speaking to me in very understandable terms. Despite the complicated and density of the subject, it was an enjoyable and enlightening read. Since reading it, I've read several of his other books which all were as captivating.

كاتب صهيوني مهووس بالعولمة، نشر هذا الكتاب للتبشير بأمركة العالم قبل عشرين سنة، والآن يرى أن العولمة فشلت تماما مع صعود الصين وانكفاء بلاده على نفسها في عهد ترمب، ومع ذلك ظهر مؤخرا في لقاء تلفزيوني وأكد أنه ما زال متمسكا بقناعاته.

The book is dated (pre 9/11), which makes it both interesting to read and a bore at times. Friedman is a good writer, though, and his insights into economics are interesting. It gives a good history lesson, but if you're looking for much insight into today's interconnected global society, you would probably be better served by a more modern book.

Imagine you open up a book. Inside that book is a bevy of anecdotes in which a random dude floating atop a charmed existence speaks to you in the second person. In that book he claims that the end of trade barriers and the rise of globalization will solve the problems. Sure, you and me might do them slightly differently, depending on the clothes we wear (and here the bad analogies really begin to pile up-you wonder if that drunken three way with other clueless tourists has gotten to your head)we have our own approaches. But then we realize we are all really the same, because the world is like an icecream sundae being carried along by a postman. Eventually the ice cream will melt and form a pool. The pool is flat,even if still cool- so is the world. And thats why we need to invade Iraq. Wait, what?

This is the third book I’ve read by this author, and I’ve loved them all. My only regret is that I didn’t read it when it first came out. Reading it at the close of 2018, the book answers the question many my generation have uttered, “What happened?” Globalization will continue to impacts us all, in positive and negative ways. Thank you, Mr. Friedman, for explaining the integration of money, information and technology, with illustrative stories from your travels. This is the new way the world works. It should be required reading for all.
Note to self: Read the next Friedman book the year it comes out!

Written pre 9/11 the author's take on globalism is optimistic versus what actually happened. At times he seems to take the Bretton Woods concept that a world of multinational corporations will avoid war since it is not profitable. He notes no two countries with McDonald's have ever had a war against each other. This, sadly, has not continued. This is not to overly criticize the book. At its core it remains a truly insightful look at international commerce and its tension with nationalism. A really well written book written for the masses that explains difficult concepts in ways that are easily understood. An excellent book for anyone seeking to understand our complex world.

Society is now global. I have money invested in the Australian Securities Exchange, I watch soccer live-streamed from Europe, and I buy my sneakers direct from China.

Ever since the end of the Cold War (and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989) a new era of globalization has been brought upon us, riding into the arena on the horses of free market capitalism, global technological connectedness, and democratization. When the world was dominated by the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, it was a world defined by walls and missiles. But, since the fall of the Soviet Union (and also Maoist China), “when it comes to the question of which system today is the most effective at generating rising standards of living, the historical debate is over,” Friedman writes: “The answer is free-market capitalism.”

Basically, America won the Cold War, their main weapon being superior ideas. Communism failed because it is a top down system where those at the top dictate the shape and function of society for everyone else at the bottom. Capitalism succeeded because it empowers the individuals at the bottom to determine their own path in life, allowing people to choose “what to eat, what to wear, where to live, where to travel, how to work, what to read, what to write and what to learn.” While capitalism does have its drawbacks, it is an inherently democratic system that the United States has made its main export, in addition to its cuisine, fashion, music, movies, assorted cultural ideas (freedom of speech, for example) and more around the globe. Today, there is a McDonald’s in nearly every country on the planet.

The new system we inhabit today is defined by connectedness. The internet gives anyone and everyone with a modem the ability to connect to anyone and everyone else. When you open a business that has a website, “wherever you are in the world, you will have to think globally—in terms of both who you competitors might be and who your costumers might be.” A daunting thought indeed, but a task with tremendous upside if the positives can be harnessed and exploited. Coupled with this, options for investment are also global. The global financial market is driven by what Friedman calls the ‘Electronic Herd.’ This herd consists of anybody with an internet connection, whether they be individuals, corporations, or nation-states, and their desire to invest their money in other individuals, corporations, or nation-states. Being able to send money all around the world from a computer anywhere else in the world is so novel that most people don’t even know they can invest in Mongolian cashmere if they want to. (Fun fact: it is estimated that over 90% of the money in the world is non-physical, meaning that it exists as numbers on a computer.) This book was first published in 1999, but there is a very prophetic paragraph in Friedman’s conclusion where he predicted that “Global financial crises will be the norm in this coming era. With the speed of change going on today, and with so many countries in different stages of adjustment to this new globalization system, crisis will be endemic.” It took the United States over 200 years, with many faults and failures along the way, to figure out the best systems of operation for a capitalistic economy (and there are still many flaws). Now, we are prodding the rest of the world to catch up, and to do so in a fraction of the time. Expecting a formerly communist nation to put on a capitalistic hat without time to develop social safety nets and a Securities and Exchange Commission and to jump head first into the global market is downright crazy. The ride will inevitably be bumpy for some and downright catastrophic for others.

As the walls have come crumbling down, both literally and figuratively, the world has been forced to ‘open up’ and either embrace the free market and democratization or be left in the dust. The sad reality is that those who resist are dragged along anyways (think poor countries in Africa or culturally different places in the Middle East.) “We have moved from a world where the big eat the small to a world where the fast eat the slow,” remarked Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, and he is right. Apple coming out with a new iPhone every year is a great micro-example. But while those of us in the first world have either grown up in it or are easily adaptable, the rest of the world is not. One of the biggest differences between the ‘West’ and the ‘East’ is that in the West, we value individualism as our highest ideal. Older cultures, such as those in China, Japan, and most Middle Eastern countries value the community and what is best for the group over the necessities of the individual. You can see how it would be harder for someone in Cairo to adopt a capitalistic and democratic way of thinking, verses someone from Canada or Germany. It requires the citizen from Cairo to adopt an entirely different culture, one that is being forced upon them. But adapt they must, or they will be left behind in the dirt while the rest of the world enriches itself.

This book is called the Lexus and the Olive tree because those two things are metaphorical representations of the divide between the globalized industrial economic future (the Lexus) and the rooted traditions of community and culture (the olive tree.) “The challenges in this era of globalization—for countries and individuals—is to find a healthy balance between preserving a sense of identity, home and community and doing what it takes to survive within the globalization system.” Being able to enjoy aspects of other cultures, ie. going to a McDonald’s in Tokyo or ordering curry in London, is a wonderful delight for many people to be able to experience without having to buy a plane ticket to the United States or India. Where the balance tips too far to one side, however, is when a culture eradicates another, as American culture has done many times over throughout the world. Part of the reason for the rise in terrorist attacks throughout the western world in the past two decades is due to the backlash against our exported ideas and customs, which some people in other cultures find destructive to their own. In his book, Friedman states that the onus is on us, and he is right. We, the United States, introduced this system to the world, and it us our job to help everyone adjust to it as best we can. Yes, we here in the United States are quite literally the leaders of the free world, but freedom comes with tremendous responsibility and we must not shy away from the task. The fate of the world rests in our hands.