I am starting to think the globalization phenomenon has reached "crazed fad" status. We are discussing the "flat world" concept in one of my other classes and, as you can imagine, another brilliant mind has formally challenged Tom Friedman's assertion that our planet is now flat.
Go take a look at Pankaj Ghemawat's website (www.ghemawat.org) and you will find his calculated response to Freidman's ideas. The problem I have with these big global/non-global ideas is that the concept (to me) is difficult to quantify and measure. At what point does semiglobalization (Ghemawat) become a truly flat world (Friedman) and vice versa? Our world flattening out shouldn't surprise anybody...the natural progression (intersection) of technology and innovative humans was going to happen. The fact that the flattening happened as fast as it did may be a surprise to some. But again, are we overreacting to all this? Are we giving too much credit to Friedman for articulating (in a book) what we already knew was taking place?
The bottom line -- nobody can deny that technology has changed the world and the way you and I (as small fish in a very large pond) can impact lives. Like Doug said, we are in an unprecedented period that will continue to expand and progress. Amazing capabilities (in tech) now exist and will continue to evolve. I think the real question for our generation is whether we are truly prepared to harness these capabilities into a worthwhile cause...
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