Flat Note from the Pied Piper of Globalization
By Jeff Faux
November 21, 2005

Opinion pieces and speeches by EPI staff and associates.

[POSTED TO VIEWPOINTS ON NOVEMBER 21, 2005.]

Flat Note from the Pied Piper of Globalization
Jeff Faux reviews Thomas Friedman's book,  The World Is Flat

In the Fall 2005 Dissent magazine, EPI founder Jeff Faux reviews New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman's new book, The World Is Flat. Faux's incisive essay reveals the dark side of globalization and previews themes that are developed in his own forthcoming book, The Global Class War, due out in January. He writes:

"Thomas L. Friedman's new book, The World Is Flat, is one of those works that reveals more than the author seems to intend—or perhaps understands. For the past year or so, a new tone has seeped into the writings of Friedman and the other pundits who have promoted the protection system for transnational investors that we call globalization and the rest of the world calls "neoliberalism." In the past they have assured us that, whatever we call this process, it is a "win-win" for everyone, apparently the only exception to the dictum of another Friedman (Milton, no relation) that there is no free lunch.

"But as the economic casualties—lost jobs, lower wages, the proliferation of sweatshops—have mounted, the tune is now slightly less upbeat. There is, after all, a bit of a bill to be paid, and Americans, of all people, will have to pay it."

Read the full article in PDF format.

[POSTED TO VIEWPOINTS ON NOVEMBER 21, 2005.]