Thomas Friedman Individualism

In today’s society is not as united as it once was. People tend to live for themselves not wanting to work with others. Communities have begun to crumble because of this. This is the case in politics as millennials are not as concerned with government and more so with our individual lives. This isolation may eventually be our downfall if our entire population decides to live this way and not work together. If the youth continue on this path believing that we are able to live just on our own, we are in for a rude awakening. In Robert Bellah’s essays, Individualism and Commitment in American Life and Individualism and the Crisis of Civic Membership, the phrase “crisis of civic membership” is used. Civic membership can be defined as the meeting …show more content…
Friedman refers to three types of globalization that have occurred. Globalization 1.0, which took place from 1492 to 1800, was when the world began to shrink. This was because we had just started to travel the world for conquests and new resources. The world continued to shrink during the 1800’s on to the year 2000. Globalization 2.0 was the time when companies began to use labor in other countries to produce goods that would be sold in their own countries. Today we are continuing to flatten the earth with the rise of technology and are now currently in Globalization 3.0. Now is the time for individuals, of every race and from anywhere around the world, to participate in the globalization process. Through time, globalization has been a way to further innovation and make our lives easier. Slowly we have been able to do it without having to go too far. Friedman touches upon the many of the forces that have caused the flattening of the …show more content…
Compared to people in other countries, like India and China, Americans have become too entitled and are not working as hard as they could and should be. Next is the numbers gap. There are not as many people entering the STEM fields as there used to and the current scientists and engineers we have are close to retirement. Now we have gotten to the point where engineers are being brought in from other countries because ours just does not have the supply needed. Last is the education gap. Students in America thrive at younger levels, but scores decrease as they get older. Students are not learning as much as the used to and cannot keep up with other countries’ progress. This is why outsourcing has become so big, not only does it save money, but it is done because companies want the best and brightest minds, and Americans do not quite make the