Book Review: Friedman's The World is Flat Urges National Commitment to Improving Education

The latest book from Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Thomas Friedman, The World is Flat, details the rapid globalization of the economy that has resulted from the confluence of political changes and technological innovation. Friedman describes how other nations, particularly China and India, are improving their economic capacity at a much faster rate than the United States, and are poised to take over many of the industries that once employed thousands of U.S. workers. The problem, Friedman argues, is that while these heavily populated nations educate millions of energetic and ambitious workers, the United States is smugly resting on its economic laurels. Friedman's narrative provides powerful evidence for the urgent need to raise the level of our education system and educate a much larger portion of American students, and argues that only with increasing numbers of highly-skilled, creative individuals and a commitment to advancement will the American economy continue to prosper.

“Flattening”

Friedman describes the “flattening” process in detail, identifying ten events that deeply impacted the current economy. Primarily, these events involve the rapid technological development that has occurred in the past three decades, including the rise of the computer, the development and spread of the internet, the rise of search engines like Google, and the creation of “steroids,” or technological advancements that work to improve the use and reach of these advancements. These innovations allowed for the expansion of knowledge and a serious increase in individual as well as corporate productivity. With access through the internet to places all over the globe, businesses and individuals are able to rely not on the closest source of production or information, but on the best, fastest, and cheapest source.

Combined with several developments in international politics, including the fall of the Berlin wall and major changes in Indian and Chinese economic policies, these advances mean that many elements of production and service are performed in countries around the world and easily integrated with work being done in any other country. This has also meant that countries that invest heavily in excellent education, with larger populations and seemingly to Friedman, more ambitious workers, are able to attract jobs that had previously been done by American workers within the U.S. These workers are better trained, can be fairly compensated for much less money, and are enthusiastic about jobs that are considered low-status in the United States—all factors that improve their productivity and allow American companies to effectively recruit some of the most talented workers in those countries.

As more capital flows into these countries, entrepreneurs and businesspeople that would previously have seen the United States as the only place to thrive in big business are increasingly starting businesses in their home countries, often designed to attract the attention and employment of large U.S. companies. These businesspeople recognize that to succeed, they will need to outperform their American counterparts, and do so for less money—and often do. U.S. workers, unprepared to engage in the hand-to-hand combat of this competition, are increasingly losing their jobs to eager capitalists around the globe.

The Impact of Flattening

According to Friedman, the results of this globalization can hardly be underestimated. Companies that have found new ways to streamline their businesses and make them more profitable will only continue to look for new ways to innovate, processes that will demand different skills from different workers on a rapidly adjusting schedule. Countries that have begun to profit from these developments will only look for more ways to enter the economy and develop their national workforce. For each profitable position in Asia there are millions of applicants who have been trained by a strong national education system and are eager to obtain jobs that will allow them access to this burgeoning economy.

As Friedman sees it, these changes will disrupt virtually every social and political system in every country. The economic realities will soon rearrange classes and political alignments, and create new priorities for governments. For example, in the United States, workers that previously performed low-skilled jobs will not be able to compete with the savings offered by outsourcing those skills. Entire segments of the workforce will be forced to find new jobs and a new social classification. Political parties will then need to readjust their economic policies, according to their positions on these huge economic shifts, and their social policies and allegiances, based on new classifications of workers and industries.

Flattening Along with the World

The process Friedman describes has already had a serious impact on the world economy, but has yet to have the kind of impact on the globe, and the United States specifically, that Friedman predicts it will have if it continues on its current course. In order to ensure that the United States is not virtually blown away by the efforts of global competitors, he makes several recommendations.

The nation will require superior safeguards, to protect those citizens being left behind by the new economy. Friedman proposes an increased state or federal role in maintaining pension plans, guaranteeing affordable health insurance, and insuring workers against outsourcing or downsizing. Furthermore, companies will need to adapt to the pace of this globalization by training and re-training workers, and equipping them with a variety of skills that will maximize their employability.

Pressing Need for Education

Though many things can be done to ease the transition into this “flat” economy, one of the most pressing and least recognized needs is improvement in the education of American students. As efficiency in production increases dramatically and our standards and costs of living remain higher than in much of the rest of the world, we can expect that jobs in industry will consistently decrease as companies move them elsewhere. This means that our current system of education, designed to funnel people into a variety of jobs requiring varying levels of educational proficiency, must instead work to prepare virtually every student for a highly-skilled profession. That is simply where the growth in jobs lies.

College Degree Necessary

This, according to Friedman, can be accomplished in several ways. It will require rethinking our entire system of education, which currently allows millions of students to drop out before they even complete high school. Friedman argues that in order to compete in an economy that increasingly requires individuals to hold multiple jobs over the course of a lifetime, a college degree will become a necessary credential, and should be mandatory for every student.

Friedman argues that the country will also need to expand both the depth and the breadth of science, engineering, and mathematics education. The rigor of those programs in countries like India and China, combined with the sheer numbers of students they are educating, will require an organized and determined response. Friedman asserts that, though we continue to educate some of the brightest science and technology talents in the world, and though many public schools offer excellent instruction in those subjects, we will be outnumbered and outpaced very quickly if we don't expand that quality of education to every child. The fastest growing sector of our population is the group of immigrants whose children are so frequently failed by our vastly uneven educational system. In the United States, advancement into higher education is deeply rooted in an individual's socioeconomic position and educational opportunities. In the face of such heavy competition, we can no longer tolerate these wide achievement gaps; in order to match the creativity and drive of millions of students from other nations, we must ensure that we are maximizing the potential of every single student.

Education Enthusiasm

Friedman also emphasizes the reintroduction of encouraged ambition to the education of young people. Citing President John F. Kennedy's challenge to the nation of putting a man on the moon, Friedman argues that a similar challenge by the president and government leaders will be necessary in order to focus the nation's energy and enthusiasm around the goal of preparing our students to lead the world in economic improvement and advancement. Furthermore, Friedman argues, parents must be charged with imparting that energy and enthusiasm to their children. He calls on American parents to increase their emphasis on hard work and rigorous learning, because parents in other countries (and immigrant parents in the United States) have been better preparing their students for decades. Those children now have better opportunities to trade on their superior knowledge, and they are starting to do so more rapidly than most of the United States.

Ultimately, Friedman emphasizes that the number of jobs in the global economy is not finite. The progress of the economy upwards will continue as long as innovative young people continue to create products and markets. As capital spreads to millions of newly employed workers, there is an endless market for committed entrepreneurs and large companies. But success will require a targeted effort and the development of skill and intellect that will propel the nation and its workers forward in the “flat” world.

Prepared by Nelly Ward, December 12, 2005