The World is Flat

Columbus was wrong, it seems that the world is indeed flat, although not in the physical manner. The world is flat in the way that Thomas L. Friedman argues. The birth of the internet along with other contributing factors has led the world to become flatter in terms of class. The middle class all over the world is growing, making the world a more even playing field. When people in the U.S. make calls to customer service from many big companies, these calls are directed to India. This is because many jobs have been outsourced to countries where labor is cheaper and without the hinderence of unions or minimum wage. This in turn causes the middle class of those countries, in this case India, to grow dramatically. A much larger number of people then have disposable income. The economy of India is now growing very quickly.

Indian leaders have said they would like to push the economy’s growth rate up to 9 percent — a pace it achieved a couple of years ago — and eventually to 10 percent. India needs faster growth to alleviate poverty and increase job opportunities for a young population; about half the Indian people are 25 or younger.

Despite India's impressive rate of economic growth, many experts wonder if India will be able to sustain it. India is classified as a developing country still and lacks a stable infrastructure. India wants to reach a growth rate of up to 10 percent, but this will be very difficult unless it invests more in its infrastructure. The Indian stock market is also at its highest point in two years. Whether India can maintain its rate of growth or not, the fact still remains that the world is flattening and the U.S. will not be able to keep its status as the ideal economy without making some changes.