The lexus and the olive tree - Thomas L. Friedman

The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Thomas L. Friedman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times, offers an engrossing look at the new international system that is transforming world affairs today. Globalization has replaced the Cold War system with the integration of capital, technology, and information across national borders—uniting Brazilian peasants, Indonesian entrepreneurs, Chinese villagers, and Silicon Valley technocrats in a single global village. You cannot understand the morning news, know where to invest your money, or think about the future unless you understand this new system, which is profoundly influencing virtually every country in the world today. Friedman tells you what this new electronic global economy is all about and what it will take to live within it.

With vivid stories drawn from his extensive travels, he dramatizes the conflict over the Lexus and the olive tree—the tension between the globalization system and the ancient forces of culture, geography, tradition, and community. He also distills the powerful backlash that globalization often provokes, and he explains how a balance can be struck between the Lexus and the olive tree to keep the new system in balance. Friedman has substantially expanded and updated this edition with new analyses, making it essential reading for all who care about how the world works now.