58 pages 1 hour read

Thomas L. Friedman

The Lexus and the Olive Tree

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1997

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Chapters 17-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 17: “Rational Exuberance”

America is far ahead of every other country when it comes to adjusting to globalization, leading to a “rational exuberance” because America has the most assets and fewest liabilities in relation to globalization than any other place.

 

Furthermore, if you were to design the ideal country to compete and win in the globalization system, it would look exactly like America, for 13 reasons. First, it’s ideally geographically positioned to connect to the three key markets: Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Second, it’s diverse and multicultural, but bound together by the use of English, which is the language of the internet and global business. Third, it has five regional economies joined together by a single currency, the US Dollar, that is also the reserve currency of the world. Fourth, it has innovative and efficient capital markets, and lots of venture capitalists who finance innovation. Fifth, it has the most honest legal and regulatory environment in the world. Sixth, it is accepting of new immigrants, meaning it attracts the best talent in the world. Seventh, it has a decentralized and flexible political system that allows business to thrive. Eighth, it has the most flexible labor market in the world, meaning that employers can easily fire workers to replace them with cheaper technology, and workers can easily move from one place to another.