The World Is Flat After All Summary

In his article, “The World is Flat, After All”, Friedman discusses the progression of the world via Globalization. Starting from the initial age of Globalization between 1942 and 1800 when countries were globalizing for resources and imperial conquest, to the secondary age with the corporate revolution (1800-2000), and finally, to today’s era of globalization that is not limited to where you live, what race you are, or how much money you have. Each stage of globalization brought about change by new technologies used in business and everyday life. The article highlights multiple points in history where cutting edge technology further globalized the world, such as the Microsoft Windows operating system, the undersea-underground fiber network, and the use of outsourcing. The most important part of Friedman’s article “The World is Flat, After All” is that the playing field for people, businesses, and countries is being leveled through globalization due to the many technological
However, a new creation flatten the playing field exponentially. In 1995 Netscape went public, bringing new software and hardware for computers to the playing field. Netscape “brought the Internet alive” with the creation of the browser to display images and data stored on Web sites. Additionally, Netscape triggered the massive overinvestment of billions of dollars in fiber-optic telecommunications cable. These fiber-optic cable “drove down the cost of transmitting voices, data and images to practically zero, which in turn accidentally made Boston, Bangalore and Beijing next-door neighbors overnight.” Communication was expedited like never before. Now anyone with a computer and access to the internet had the ability to communicate and innovate, enhancing the efficiency of people and