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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page book review of Thomas Friedman's The Lexus and the Olive Tree (1999). The writer analyzes the author's stance on globalization, indicating that Friedman's views are ethnocentric and also unsubstantiated by scholarly research. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khlexot3.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
comment on the phenomena of globalization. In doing so, he draws on personal experiences that span the globe, as he has interviewed individuals from all walks of life. This forms
a basically optimistic view of progress that reflects the time in which it was written, which was the late 1990s. This is not an economic analysis of the effects of
globalization -- Friedman leaves that to the economists--but rather he argues that globalization is the predominantly paradigm for Western societies in the wake of the Cold War. While there is
still an element of truth to Friedmans analysis of globalization, its 1999 publication date necessarily entails that he does not address the presence of terrorism as a new and dominant
element on the world stage. Nevertheless, his position is worth examination. According to Friedman, "World affairs today can only be explained as the interaction between what is as new as
an Internet Web site and what is as old as a gnarled olive tree on the banks of the river Jordan" (25). His lyrical title is built upon such a
contrast. By "Lexus," Friedman means the Japanese luxury car (the car he drives), the "greatest luxury car in the world," which also happens to be a perfect symbol for technology
as it is assembled by robots (27). While one part of the world is concentrating on "building a better Lexus," and is dedicated to "modernizing, streamlining, and privatizing their economies
in order to thrive in the system of globalization," the other half of the world is still caught up in the fight over "who owns which olive tree" (27).
While Friedman grant that tradition has value and a place in a society, he clearly favor technological advancement and it is also obvious that he considers the future to belong
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