The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Book Review Example

The Lexus and the Olive Tree was written by Thomas L Friedman in 1999.  The book essentially discusses the concept that the world is engaged in two massive struggles : i)  the push towards wealth, prosperity and development  – as symbolised by the Lexus and 2) the more peaceful less radical idea of maintaining identity and traditional values – symbolised by the olive tree.  Friedman has a wealth of international experience drawing upon his role as a journalist for the New York Times.  His job has taken him to many impoverished countries, seeing the effects of the Amazonian rain forest and reporting on the concepts of “Globalization” (Friedman)

The book is now 9 years old and the world has advanced.

One of the arguments put forward by Friedman concluded ..” Globalization is not just a phenomenon and not just a passing trend. It is the international system that replaced the Cold War system. Globalization is the integration of capital, technology, and information across national borders, in a way that is creating a single global market and, to some degree, a global village.” (T. Friedman).   It is certainly true that the concept of globalization has increased as a trend and that the people of the world have brought even closer together in terms of communications, technology, world trade and political convergences.  Equally the cold war has not been entirely replaced and the world still remains a fragile place with emerging powers like China and India.  Equally Russia is still undergoing many reforms and still has a very tentative relationship with the western democracies. Instability on its borders with the former satellite states of the USSR continue to make for an uncertain relationship with the west.  Globalization has pushed Russia into a more proactive trading position with the west and has managed to replace some of the older stigma of doing business with the west.

Friedman also discusses at length ” the ancient forces of culture, geography, tradition and community” (T. Friedman).  Here we really have to examine the Islamic world of the Middle East, Pakistan and Indonesia.  Ancient cultures that go back to the time of the Persians. Whilst these nations are bound together by a common religious belief “Islam” they have not strived to replace old traditional values and resisted more formal integration with the western democracies. The result of this has been to increase the tension with the West and in the more extreme cases export a brand of terrorist threat on a global basis. Evidence the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the civil unrest in Pakistan and the bombings in Bali.  In this sense globalization has brought us a lot closer together with world news coverage being virtually instantaneous to our habitats throughout the world.

Within the concept of the Lexus we are perhaps taken to the darker more foreboding side of the concept of “globalization”.  For example consider.. ” Globalization is nothing more than the product of the multinational corporation’s search for profit. So, rather than being driven by positive things like a wish to bring the world closer together, globalization is driven by corporations seeking to maximize profits, and part of that search for profits involves the search for cheaper labour.”  (MacMillan).  Emily MacMillan of Dalhousie University provides an insight into the wealth building and greed aspects of globalization.  In this concept it is all about Corporate expansion, creating wealth and making money.  It is the opposite of creating a more collaborative cohesive world inn order to solve the many global issues of climate change, pollution, health care, poverty etc.

The impact of globalization on poverty is neatly summed up here.. ” While the process of globalization possesses an enormous potential capacity to accelerate economic growth and development, the depth of poverty found in many parts of the developing world is still unacceptably high. Pro-globalization proponents see the globalization process is turning into a destructive tsunami that wrecks the already low standard of living of vulnerable households. Despite the worldwide passionate debate about the impact of globalization on the world’s poor, there are very few studies which have systematically examined the various transmission mechanisms through which globalization ultimately affects the poor within different specific contents.”  (Thorbecke)

Since the original work by Friedman in 1999, if anything the world has become more polarized. In many regards the 9/11 attack on the twin towers in New York and subsequent terrorist attacks in both London and Madrid have galvanized the West’s war on terrorism.  Those wishing to remain in a more passive state have found themselves confronted by western democratic values and the desire for regime change in order improve political international relationships.

Burgeoning new democracies like Russia have found societal changes with the move towards capitalist values.  It is considered highly unlikely that anything will stop the increased push towards a global economy. The world’s nations are also at a pivotal point having to deal with global problems like Climate Change, Pandemics, Pollution, Scarcity of natural resources and feeding an increasing world population. The world is more likely to turn towards science and technological innovation (Lexus) as opposed to religious and cultural values that have a regressive stance with little to offer in the solutions department.

Works Cited

Friedman, Thomas L. “Lexus and the Olive Tree.” Friedman, Thomas L. Lexus and the Olive Tree. New York : Farrar, Straus & Giroux , 1999.

Friedman, Thomas. Lexus and the Olive Tree. 31 3 2009. 18 10 2009 <http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/bookshelf/the-lexus-and-the-olive-tree>.

MacMillan, Emilly. The Global Impact. August 2001. 10 October 2009 <http://www.elements.nb.ca/theme/globalization/emily/emily.htm>.

Thorbecke, Machiko Nissanke and Erik. “The Impact of Globalization on the World’s Poor .” Thorbecke, Machiko Nissanke and Erik. The Impact of Globalization on the World’s Poor . Basingstoke, UK : Palgrave MacMillan, 2007.