Richard Florida's analysis of Friedman's theories present an innovative way to view arguments against the flat-world theory. Florida's theory makes more sense than Friedman's: we are on the path towards a flat world, but it is an incredibly slow journey, and the disparities that characterized the round world are still very much with us.
The map showing light usage from around the world was particularly striking. Two years ago I took a trip to Piura, Peru, helping build homes with members of my church. I was struck by the absolute blackness at night. After about 10 p.m., most street lights were switched off, and the vast majority of residents had no electricity in their homes. The area resembled a black-out area during World War II.
Florida's depiction makes me wonder if we need to speed along the process of flattening the world. Friedman's book at times sounds the alarm about a flat world, but the disparity of wealth and resources that characterizes the US is all to evident in Florida's analysis. Whether anyone can speed up the flattening process is anyone's guess, but perhaps flattening the world would not have the dire consequences that some pundits have suggested; perhaps the benefits would far outweigh any harm to America.
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