Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The World is Flat -- and All News Local
The downside of globalism and Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat can be seen in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scandal we discussed in class the first day back after vacation. Initially, the story looked like U.S. news as investors in New York, Minnesota and Florida saw their fortunes evaporate. But yesterday the IHT headlined Vast Wall Street fraud knew no boundaries. The ripples extend right here to Abu Dhabi. The article notes that the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which at one point had invested about $400 million through Madoff, "wound up in the same boat as Jewish charities in New York: caught in the collapse of Bernie Madoff." So when you read the news, don't think "international," think how is this story "local," how does it affect me here.
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2 comments:
Sure, it affects us here but the question is should we care as regular people? In terms of the economy, things could get very complicated that I sometimes don't bother to understand what the issue is all about. I am aware I shouldn't have that attitude but I do and I know so many others who do as well.
The world has become so interconnected that "regular people" are affected on the most personal level by so-called "international" events with little or no lag time. But we don't have to stay in the dark about what's happening. The Internet and satellite tv offer a feast of information. Trick is to know how to digest what's on the table. The more we follow international news, the more we evaluate the sources and the information, the better equipped we will be to handle the many, many challenges ahead. At least I HOPE so!
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