The Flat World

I've recently been reading Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat, in which he describes the rising impact of globalization on our modern world and the forces which led to this rise. From the fall of the Berlin Wall to modern wireless communication technology, Friedman describes how the world is quickly becoming a place in which participation is based not on your location but rather your desire.

This flattening of the world means that more people are playing in the same field. If I want to get the top programming jobs, I don't just need to be the best at BYU or the best in Utah; I'm competing against Romanians, Indians, Russians, and Africans as well. As the world becomes flatter and smaller, location matters less and less. Telecommuting is becoming increasingly feasible in technical fields, so I can't just rely on my proximity to major companies any longer.

Competition isn't the only result of the flattening world, though.  International collaboration has the odd twist that there is no supreme governing body.  The United Nations, NAFTA, and other such organizations may have some say in the trade relations of various nations, but there is no Supreme Court Justice or universal code of laws to which all nations have agreed.  Many nations with which we collaborate may still have gross human rights violations.  Taxation issues aren't as clear-cut, labor compensation laws will vary—overall, these increase of globalization increases the complexity involved in doing business.

There are moral issues as well.  If Mexican or Chinese laborers will build your Go-Kart for 15% the cost of building it in the United States, should a businessman be required to take into account the working conditions of those laborers?  Regardless of the legality of such things, I feel that ethically, it's a concern.  The globalization of the economy forces us to confront issues we might never have faced before.

Technology is a good thing; it helps us be more efficient, more productive, more healthy, more focused, and more able.  There's no question about these things.  But we need to be aware of the consequences before we dash headlong in to the future.  We need to pay attention to our surroundings.  We need to be sure that technology doesn't turn us into slaves to the economy.  We need to be sure to keep our eyes up, carefully watching the coming changes.  We need to be sure that as the world goes flat, we don't get caught underneath.