Welcome to our virtual community devoted to actively debating the idea's of the three time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Thomas L. Friedman.

In his best-selling book "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century" Thomas Friedman analyzes the progress of globalization in the early twenty-first century. The principal theme of this book is the "flattening" of the world, a metaphor for the global leveling of competition and capability through globalization. The author analyzes how accelerated change is made possible by intersecting technological advances and social protocols. Friedman himself is a strong advocate of these changes, calling himself a "free-trader" and a "compassionate flatist," and he criticizes societies that resist these changes. He emphasizes the inevitability of a rapid pace of change and the extent to which emerging abilities of individuals and developing countries are creating many pressures on businesses and individuals in the United States; he has special advice for Americans and for the developing world (but says almost nothing about Europe). The flattening of the world makes possible complex supply chains based on value-added services, with products in all industries being increasingly leveraged through competitive commoditization and the possibility of using labor and services in emerging markets like India and China. Friedman's is a popular work based on much personal research, travel, conversation, and reflection. In his characteristic style, he combines in The World Is Flat conceptual analysis accessible to a broad public with personal anecdotes and opinions.