Understanding globalization audible audiobook unabridged thomas l. The herd is powerful because it has lots of money that it is willing to lend to others. Thomas friedman is the foreign affairs columnist for the new york times. Friedman july 15, 1999 issue the lexus and the olive tree. Born in minneapolis in 1953, he was educated at brandeis university and st. You either embrace the herd, and the discipline it mandates, or youd better get off the range.
For the most part, however, friedman is a terrific explainer. Author also makes up his own terms like electronic herd which makes the reading very gripping and holding. The attitudes and actions of the electronic herd and the supermarkets can have a huge impact on nation. In simplest terms, friedman defines globalization as the world integration of finance markets. Using original terms and concepts from the electronic herd to doscapital 6. His first book, from beirut to jerusalem, won the national book award in 1988. Friedman continues to argue that to thrive in todays globalization system a country not only has to put on the golden straitjacket, it has to join the electronic herd. Thomas friedman refers to the washington consensus prescription as the golden straitjacket. Friedman is one of americas leading interpreters of world affairs. What is the common denominator that runs through the lexus and the olive tree. Friedman s innovative designs and meticulous construction have made him legendary in the world of professional touring musicians while earning him a loyal. Thomas friedman has written a very surprising book.
What does friedman mean when he said, that leaves one last strategy, and its a powerful onelearning how to use globalization against itself. He explains how the enormous power that the electronic herd investors. Electronic herd, a nameless group of investors and speculators that. Friedman spoke about how increasing globalization of markets might impact national security concerns. Opinion a plan to get america back to work the new. In this, friedman is less an advocate for globalization than the deliverer of the bad or good depending on your perspective news. The electronic herd loves the golden straitjacket, because it embodies all the liberal, freemarket rules the herd. I call them the electronic herd, and this herd gathers in key global financial centers such as wall street, hong kong, london, and frankfurt which i call the supermarkets. The electronic herd market forces personified by wall street, supermarkets regional markets replacing superpowers, golden straitjacket adherence to capitalistic doctrine have brought us into a wideopen, fastmoving, capitalistic system that is reshaping the world. I share them because i am certain that we need to broaden the debate i am certain that we need less herd mentality and more herd immunity. Globalization has replaced the cold war system with the integration of capital, technology, and information across national bordersuniting. He is a threetime pulitzer prize winner who is a weekly. Understanding globalization is a 1999 book by thomas l. As new york times columnist and author thomas friedman keeps reminding us, the global market and the electronic herd.
It is impressive to see how clearly thomas friedman does what he. Now friedman has drawn on his years on the road to produce an engrossing. Shorthorn cattle represents all the stock, bonds and currency traders around the world. He explains how the enormous power that the electronic herd investors worldwide who are closely connected electronically holds sway over global finance. The success of globalization, friedman contends, depends on how well these goals can be satisfied at one and the same time. The electronic herd is a term coined by thomas friedman in his book the lexus and the olive tree. In the middle of thomas friedman s the world is flat is a long quote that towers over the intellectual landscape of the rest of the book like a mountain over low hills. A critical reflection on neoliberal globalization in the. Introduction the purpose of this paper is to summarize thomas friedman s book, the lexus and the olive tree, highlighting its main concepts. With vivid stories, he dramatizes the conflict of the lexus and the olive tree the tension between the. Generally speaking, i think its a good thing that the sun comes up every morning. Thomas friedman, the wellknown columnist for the,\f1, ork 7ijiicj. The world is flat a brief history of the 21st century by thomas l.
I call them the electronic herd, and this herd gathers in key global financial centers, such as wall street, hong kong, london and frankfurt, which i call the supermarkets. The author explains the current growing technology pursuit and then connects its evolving into a network of system which he terms as globalization. Friedman that posits that the world is currently undergoing two struggles. The world is flat, or at least becoming flatter very quickly, thomas l. Friedman has traveled to the four corners of the globe.
If nation states sacrifice too much of their identity to the dictates of the electronic herd, a. See the article in its original context from march 28. Driving it all is what he calls the electronic herd, the faceless buyers and sellers of stocks. The electronic herd can be unfair, even wrong, but to fight it is useless. Those that dont are disciplined by the herd as it avoids investing or withdraws its money from that country. The lexus and the olive tree by friedman, thomas l. Thomas friedman and gray bond traders, currency speculators, and fund managers who either direct money to or withhold it from developing economies, resulting in economic winners and losers. He presents a clear picture of how the investment decisions of what he calls the electronic herd a combination of institutions, such as mutual funds, and individuals, whether george soros or your uncle max trading on his pcaffect the fortunes of nations.
Moodys is the credit rating agency that signals the electronic herd of global investors where to plunk down their money, by telling them which countries. Dave has been building, modding and repairing amplifiers for many of the worlds biggest stars for the past 25 years. They gather in key global financial centers, such as frankfurt, hong kong, london, and new yorkthe. Because this herd can stampede at will, if not at whim, developing. Once invested, it has the ability to sell off its investments if conditions in the country are no longer favorable for them. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. This is the bible on globalization from the pen of an award winning journalist who sums up his own attitude to globalization. The central problem is that foreign investorswho appeared to compose, in thomas friedman s words, an uncoordinated, uncontrollable electronic herd running about the worldmight suddenly and inexplicably turn against an otherwise seemingly healthy emerging economy and thereby induce a national economic contraction not in response to what. High volatility could trigger trading algorithms that magnify price movements in a panicked electronic herd effect a term coined by thomas friedman that inadvertently produces asset fire sales and systemic risk, as investors simultaneously sell assets in a panicked rush to liquidity. In a widely publicized study carried out in the late 1950s and early 1960s, researchers asked citizens of more than a dozen countries around the world whether they were happy with their lives. The electronic herd is made up of all the faceless stock, bond.
With vivid stories drawn from his extensive travels, he dramatizes the conflict of the lexus and the olive tree the tension between the globalization system and the ancient forces of culture, geography, tradition, and community. Dos capitalism thomas friedman embraces the forces of globalization. Thus, concludes friedman, it is not necessarily inevitable that a country don the golden straightjacket and participate in globalization, however, the only place a country can go to get big checks is to the electronic herd. He argues that as your country puts on the golden straitjacket, two things tend to happen. The second is between nationstates and global markets, which consist of millions of investors moving money around the world, called the electronic herd by. I call them the electronic herd and this herd gathers in key global financial centers, such as wall street, hong kong, london and frankfurt, which i call the supermarkets. Friedman writes, come about largely because of the pressures of the electronic herd, which is his term for the thousands if not millions of investors and financial analysts who today direct or divert billions of investment dollars into or away from a country with the click of a mouse. Finding the proper balance between the lexus and the olive tree is the great drama of the globalization era, and the ultimate theme of friedman s challenging, provocative book essential reading for all who care about how the world really works.
Dave friedman is the man behind the signature tones of rock icons eddie van halen, steve stevens and jerry cantrell. As the foreign affairs columnist for the new york times, thomas l. The lexus and the olive tree is an indispensable look at power and big change in the age of globalization. Friedman tells you what this new electronic global economy is all about and what it will take to live within it. Friedman, one of our most influential columnists, and michael mandelbaum, one of our leading foreign policy thinkers, analyze those challengesglobalization, the revolution in information technology, the nations chronic deficits, and its pattern of energy consumptionand spell out what we need to do now. To get the herd s money, you have to make yourself look attractive to it. Microchip immune deficiency golden straitjacket electronic herd plugging into the system. He explains how the enormous power that the electronic herd investors worldwide who are closely connected electronically holds sway over global finance and economics. With vivid stories, he dramatizes the conflict of the lexus and the olive tree. He says he came to this realization while eating a sushi box lunch on a japanese. Friedman, the pulitzer prizewinning foreign affairs columnist for the new york times, offers an engrossing look at the new international system that is transforming world affairs today. With bold reporting and acute analysis, friedman dramatizes the conflict between globalizing forces and local cultures, and he shows why a balance between progress and the preservation of ancient traditions will ensure a better future for all. I am a big believer in the idea of the superstory, the notion that we all carry around with us a big lens, a big framework, through which we look at the world, order events, and decide what is. In this, friedman is less an advocate for globalization than the deliverer of the bad or.