The World Isn't Flat

Assignment 1

The phrase “the world is flat” describes a world where the playing field is levelled for all countries competing in the global market. In this world, English-speaking countries no longer have advantage over the rest of the world. Every country has equal chance of succeeding because the tools to succeed have changed and are available to every country.

There are two sides to the globalization argument: those who agree, and those who are sceptic. A champion of the power of globalization is Thomas L Friedman. In his paper It’s a Flat World, After All Friedman gives evidence behind the flat world theory and how it came about. One argument for a level playing field is new technologies, such as the Internet, that allows business to happen across countries in very short periods of time. Another argument is the use of open-source software that allows global collaboration. The third argument for a flat world is the emergence of new countries joining the global market due to new trade laws.

Alternatively, the sceptics point out flaws in the flat world theory. One sceptic is Pankaj Ghemawat and his arguments are laid out in his paper titled Why the World isn’t Flat. Ghemawat shows that data of current world economies does not match up with theories of mass globalization. The first counterargument given by Ghemawat is that economic activity is largely conducted within borders regardless of the ability to conduct it in other countries (2007: 56). According to Ghemawat, categories of levels of internationalization across industries all average around only 10% (2007: 56). If the global market were as intertwined as people think, those levels would be much higher. Lastly, trade relationships, national defense, and geographical boundaries are still legitimate deterrents of internationalization (Ghemawat 2007).

The question of whether or not the world is flat is difficult to measure because it requires examining huge amounts of evidence from every country and...