2. Thomas Friedman
New York Times since 1981
Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner
1984-88 Israel Bureau Chief
Major Books:
From Beirut to Lebanon (1989)
The Lexus and the Olive Tree (1998)
The World is Flat (2005)
Hot, Flat, and Crowded (2008)
3. Chimerica
Niall Ferguson idea
Friedman: “… We in America built more and
more stores, to sell more and more stuff, made
in more and more Chinese factories, powered by
more and more coal, and all those sales
produced more dollars, which China used to buy
more and more U.S. Treasury Bills, which
allowed the Federal Reserve to extend more and
more easy credit to more and more banks,
consumers and businesses…” (p. 4)
4. Iceland’s Banks and Melting Ice
In 2003, three biggest banks in Iceland
had assets of $140 billion, bigger than
Icelandic GDP
2003-7: growth of banking fueled big jump
in incomes, real estate and stock prices
October 2008 collapse left Icelandic
citizens holding the bag
Video
5. Collapse of the Wilkins Ice Shelf
Wilkins Ice Shelf in the Antarctic crumbled
in January 2009
Scientist blamed global warming for the
collapse of this and nine other ice shelves
in Antarctica
video
6. What Happened? (Friedman’s
explanation)
The trend to deregulation (especially under
Reagan)
End of the Cold War
9/11
“And when the bugle sounded we heard the call:
‘Go shopping.’” ( p. 35)
“…the biggest danger America faces today is
not so much that it will suddenly nosedive…it will
undergo a gradual but very real erosion of its
strengths and assets as a country…” (p. 41)
