1. The first chapter in The World Is Flat recalls the voyage of Columbus, colonization, and industrialization. Are the motivations behind twenty-first-century globalization much different from the ones recorded throughout history?
Libby:
I don’t think there is much of a difference in the motivations since the author, Thomas Friedman, paralleled his adventure of globalization in the 21st century with Christopher Columbus’s journey to the Americas back in 1492. I researched the purpose of globalization is to bring countries together through trade, aid, communications, and investments to stop international disputes, to save global environment, and to eliminate Third World poverty and economic inequality. I feel like these ideals to alleviate these severe conditions are more prominent today around the world. I also think that globalization today is far more successful than in centuries before.
Pablo:
2. Thomas L. Friedman discusses the many occupations that can now be outsourced or offshored, including his own job as a journalist. Could many American be done by someone in another country? Could many Americans do their job better from home, as the JetBlue telephone agents do? Would you feel comfortable knowing that your taxes had been prepared by an overseas accountant, or your CAT scan read by an overseas radiologist?
Libby:
Unfortunately, I do agree that American jobs can be done by someone in another country. However, I don’t think there are many jobs that are subject to this situation. It depends on what job the American has as to whether they could do their job better from home. Personally, if I knew that my information was read from an another person from another country, I wouldn’t go about the system. It does bother me a little that America has to depend on other countries for answers and work, rather than depending on themselves. This goes against the idea of a self-sustaining country.
Pablo: