The World Is Flat

The World is Flat
Thomas L Friedman

To Matt and Kay and to Ron

1

Contents
How the World Became Flat.................................................................................................. 4 ONE While I Was Sleeping ................................................................................................. 4 TWO The Ten Forces That Flattened the World.............................................................. 34
Flattener #1. 11/9/89 ........................................................................................... 34 Flattener #2. 8/9/95 ............................................................................................. 39 Flattener #3. Work Flow Software .......................................................................49 Flattener #4. Open-Sourcing ................................................................................ 56 Flattener #5. Outsourcing .................................................................................... 70 Flattener #6. Offshoring ....................................................................................... 77 Flattener #7. Supply-Chaining.............................................................................. 86 Flattener #8. Insourcing ....................................................................................... 95 Flattener #9. In-forming ..................................................................................... 100 Flattener #10. The Steroids................................................................................... 106

THREE The Triple Convergence ..................................................................................... 114
Convergence I........................................................................................................ 115 Convergence II....................................................................................................... 116 ConvergenceIII...................................................................................................... 119

FOUR The Great Sorting Out ......................................................................................... 133 America and the Flat World .............................................................................................. 148 FIVE America and Free Trade........................................................................................ 148 SIX The Untouchables .................................................................................................... 156 SEVEN The Quiet Crisis .................................................................................................. 165 EIGHT This Is Not a Test................................................................................................. 182 Developing Countries and the Flat World ......................................................................... 202 NINE The Virgin of Guadalupe ....................................................................................... 202 Companies and the Flat World.......................................................................................... 221 TEN How Companies Cope ............................................................................................ 221 Geopolitics and the Flat World .......................................................................................... 240 ELEVEN The Unflat World ..............................................................................................240
Too Sick ................................................................................................................. 243 Too Disempowered ............................................................................................... 247 Too Frustrated ....................................................................................................... 253 Too Many Toyotas...