Examines Thomas L. Friedman’s book on the inevitability of globalization.
In The Lexus and the Olive Tree, author Thomas L. Friedman explains the facts, functions, and faults of globalization. The paper shows that, according to Friedman, in spite of the strong backlash against it, globalization is inevitable, and resistance is futile. The current of free market trade is too powerful to stop, but the author offers hope for a balanced future in which considerations of culture, politics, environmentalism, and personal liberty are protected. The paper shows how the author covers economics, politics, and sociology, demonstrating how these factors both shape globalization and are shaped by globalization.
The title of the book comes from Friedman’s comparison of the forces of technological and economic growth with the forces of tradition and culture. The Lexus represents the quest for modernization, for bigger and better toys, and for prosperity. According to the author, these are fundamental human needs and desires; they cannot be squelched but they can and are kept in check by the equally strong pull toward family, community, tradition, and culture. Symbolized by the olive tree, the desire to establish and nurture such roots need not be in conflict with globalization. In fact, Friedman points out a myriad of examples of places and situations in which the Lexus and the olive tree coincide. Unfortunately, these two forces do exist in conflict, however. Friedman points especially to the Middle East and to former communist block nations as areas in which the Lexus and the olive tree vie for supremacy.