The Leveling of America

Coming from Thomas L. Friedman, a book that will no doubt be reviewed amny many times.

Religion has always found a prominent place in US politics, though not as loudly as in Pakistan or the (former) USSR. Decades of propaganda (selling or whatever), in which Pakistan found itself missing for different reasons, has seen to it that the US sees India in a much more favourable light. Rising religious fanaticism and religious affinities have contributed too.

In a flat world, Pakistan will become flat too. But I wonder how that would happen with the extraordinary religious fanaticsm and failure to apprecite the need for better education and manufaturing capabilities.

Friedman is an apologist for capitalism, and his status-quo enhancing recommendations are naively ignorant of the state of the world`s poor- including the poor within the developed world. There is no levelling going on in America or the world. The new class structure in the US, with an over 0.85 gini index reveals almost near total inequality, and intergenerational permanence in this class structure. The class structure in the US has become as rigid and resistant to change as the caste system. Around the world, over 50% live on less than $2 a day, which adjusting for Purchasing Power Parity translates into extreme poverty, and an average consumption of much less than $2 given 1985 prices.

Technology merely becomes another tool in the arsenal of the Power Elite to further their privilege and little else, it will not fix anything. The problem is distributional deprivation in a world of plenty. The solution is not trying to fit into the same system, the solution is to consciously reject the system and then try to get rid of its control mechanisms like the nation-state system- form alliances, trade blocks and defense pacts with the rest of the rejecting states and move forward from there.

The forces of tyranny will put blocks in the way of such emancipation, like they are doing with Chavez, however, once our united FREE nations become a large enough block, we can resist all such interference. Regardless of how you try to fit into the global capitalistic system of tyranny, you`ll suffer, some more than others, some sooner than later but eventually all will suffer. If there is any leveling going on in the current system, it is the total immeriseration of all except the few elite at the top. WE MUST REJECT IT IN TOTALITY. To reject it consciously, we need to know how the current-day political economy in America and the by extension the world system operate.

Good article, it deals with REAL issues unlike the non-issues of Anti-Semitism that are deliberately forced upon us as distraction tactics. Hopefully more such articles that deal with real issues will follow on Chowk. We need to tell these tyranny enhancing, profit generating powers that be to ``go to hell``. Every moment I think of them, the US power elite and their lackeys around the world that is what I say, be it to their imaginary image, ``Go to hell.`` As such I proclaim my independence; let us emancipate humanity in similar fashion. Good day to you all.

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The writer proves her idiocy by this single statement.

``For every Azim Premji in India, there are several entrepreneurs in Pakistan, but Friedman is too busy promoting India to notice.``

Azim Premji is worth atleast $16 billion. Kindly name even one Pakistani entrepreneur , self-made or otherwise who is worth even $1 billion.

Apart from Premji , there are a couple of other muslim billionaires in South Asia. Both are also Indian. Dr. Hameed of Cipla group and Habil Khorakhiwala of Wockhardt.

Basically it all boils down to the fact that Friedman is full of praise for India and looks down upon Pakistan. So the silly writer has to write this rant against Amrika , Bush , Friedman , Capitalism etc. .......

Atleast she has found a fan in the mad mullah and wannabe suicide bomber masadi...

Masadi , repeat after me. Capitalism is sexy and Amrika is cool. Islam is for fools.

Friedman is on Indian government payroll. He is too loud for his own good and is a constant marketer for India. He has become a corporate goon and is loosing his credibilty fast. He is pushing India but corporate America is going into China. So much for his marketing ability. He is constantly travelling to Banged Galore, probably paid for by the Indian lobbyists.

Respectfully submitted,

#7 by behram1 on December 14, 2005 4:47am PT


Friedman is on Indian government payroll.


Aww...pangs of jealousy...

Perhaps all these people are on the Indian government payroll as well..

India booms: $10 billion in 11 weeks!

BS Economy Bureau in New Delhi | December 08, 2005 10:30 IST

In the last 11 weeks, international information technology majors and non-resident Indians have announced investment plans of around $10 billion in the country.

In the last seven weeks, global players including Cisco, Intel, AMD and Microsoft have committed to investing $6.85 billion in India over the next three to five years. These investments span the entire gamut of IT services -- software, microprocessors and networking equipment.

Microsoft Corporation today announced its decision to invest $1.7 billion in India over the next four years. Earlier this week, Intel Corporation, the world`s largest chip-maker, announced an investment package of $1.05 billion over the next five years.

He fails to dig deeper into history to realize that the same socialist ideals were the reason why India developed an over qualified workforce.


But it`s the capitalistic ideals that unlocked their potential...And developing a qualified workforce has nothing to do with socialistic policies..Japan, South Korea and the US all have qualified workforces..


For every Azim Premji in India, there are several entrepreneurs in Pakistan


Azim PRemji is the CEO of a company that can hold it`s own in the world of IT..Azim Premji is worth 10 billion $..

Please enlighten us...who in Pakistan comes even close? Name one Pakistani company that compares to Wipro...And who`s this super-secretive Pakistani billionaire whose name never shows up on the Fortune list of billionaires..



for these pockets are simplistic, vague and heavily biased toward capitalism.


Yeah..wonder why that is...It`s not like capitalism has ever worked before..



For America, Islamism is equivalent to Leninism


Why yes, it is...Islamism, or muslims uber alles, is an insidious ideology..just like communism..


however engineers from other countries should be allowed into America


He specifically named Pakistan and saudi arabia...countries where support for the jihadis and OBL is high..


Global trends such as newer visa restrictions in the last year also support the view that the world is being polarized into non-Muslim and Muslim.


The world is polarized into jihadi-lovers and victims of the jihadis..


Pakistan must form beneficial alliances with India


But Pakistan has already said it won`t trade with India, a country with an economy 10 times it`s own, unless India ``resolves`` the Kashmir issue...and we all know that`s code word for handing over Indian Kashmir to Pakistan..something that clearly isn`t going to happen...

Chowk publishes another in the ``Me Muslim, Me innocent, Me victim`` series....

Indian parsis doing well...I`m sure pakis will say paki parsis are doing well too but then fail to tell us which paki parsi can match the tatas....

Tata Daewoo to assemble trucks in Pakistan

By Aamir Shafaat Khan

KARACHI, Dec 13: Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company (TDCV) of Korea here on Monday signed a technical assistance agreement (TAA) with a local company for assembling Korean trucks in Pakistan.

The agreement was signed by Chae Kwang, president of TDCV, and Muhammad Ghufran, chief executive of Afzal Motors Private Limited. The ceremony was also attended by Chandra Vir Singh, vice-president, and M.S. Jung, director, Overseas Business Division of TDCV.

Daewoo truck manufacturing company was started in Korea in 1973 and during the last 30 years, it remained a major player in the Korean heavy-duty truck market. In early 2004, Tata Motors Ltd of India took over Daewoo Truck Company and now it is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Tata Motors and renamed as TDCV.

Sounds like this book is a `divinci code` of non fictions and the impending bible for Indian egoists (all you have to do is read the smug responses by arjun and ranger)

Saima,

your points are valid but you have to realize, publishers are going to value books on marketability..... jews are going to read this book, evangelists are going to read this book, the indians will, the chinese will... he knows Muslims are too busy reading Hadiths.... he`s got all the bases covered..

#11 by scout on December 14, 2005 5:34am PT


smug responses


Smug why? Because people asked the author to name one, just ONE, Paki who can be compared to Azim Premji...or one paki company that comes close to Wipro..

The facts hate the pakis..

Re: # 7

Behram

The best review of Friedman’s book appeared in the New York Review of Books a few months ago (the same one that is referenced in this article.) That review by John Gray is an intellectual masterpiece that blows this book into smithereens in a form so intellectually lethal that I haven’t seen one before or since.

You are right. The fact that Friedman so openly drools over India makes his writings suspect.

Scout....its not even funny. Chowk publishes an article which explicitly claims that `for every one Azim Premji there are several such $ billionaire entrepreneurs in Pakistan`.....

....If so where are they ? Why are they so reclusive ? How come Forbes hasn`t heard of them ? Apparently only the writer seems to know about them. And good to know that you find her points `valid`.

I`m sure our genius editor-in-chief feels the same way as well. Chowk definitely is on the way up under her jurisdiction.

Last couple of weeks , we have had the privilege of coming across other equally brilliant articles , one by a promising journalist from Pakistan , in which special mention was given to `hindooo mentality` and one by a guy with an Indian sounding name who wondered as to `why the whole world hated jews` ....

That Farzana Versey - she makes a brilliant editor-in-chief. With her in charge , we expect more of the same and the future looks rosy.

All we need now is to get our favorite wannabe suicide bomber Masadi space to air his views. Its a surprise his articles haven`t been published yet. Perhaps we need to start a petition for that. He would be the real icing on Versey`s cake.

For a few minutes, please try to forget that there are Pakistanis and there are Indians. Just think of people who share a common ethos and have had as well as continue to have very similar problems. Let us call these people ``lentil eaters``, for lack of a better word.

Now look slightly further over the horizon. You can see almost all of the ``lentil eaters`` trying to get out of these problems. Great. So far so good. Rates of success are different and are kind of geographical, but then the ``lentil eaters`` who are falling behind are trying to catch-up. Great. Much of this is also cyclical.

HOWEVER, some of the ``lentil eaters`` are taking time out to play, let us say, football. In the sun, in the rain, in the dirt and on astro-turf, but they are having a great time playing this kind of disorganised game of football. Children, women and men, all together. There are no rules, they all just play and have fun. Now and then they win, lose, trip each other, have fights, some even go behind the stands and have sex, are shown yellow and red cards, but the game goes on and everybody has fun.

BUT there are some segments of ``lentil eaters`` who don`t like to have fun. Fair enough, they can stay at home with their own sort. Let us call them ULTRA LENTILS or ``daal me kala``.

Problem arises when the ULTRA LENTILS start throwing stones at the other ``lentil eaters``.

+++

What has Friedman said that upsets some ``lentil eaters``?

+++

The playing football scenario was explained to me by a dear friend from Pakistan, an academic who studied in England before choosing to return, a real proud son of the soil, PhD from one of the better Universities in UK, who visited India a few weeks ago. He is best described as a very devout Muslim, but is slightly left-of-centre in his day-life, comes to India often, travels by a different mode every time, makes it a point to stay at the free or lowcost lodgings provided by different religious establishments everytime (this visit he stayed at a Jain dharamshala, and I must confess, I helped him smuggle a few beer cans in . . .). His favourite spots in Delhi are Jamia, Hamdard, IIT and JNU, with forays to North Campus. When he returns he ships back half a pick-up truck load of books, which he buys from the Sunday bazaar in Daryaganj. And we always, but always, grab a bite at `Pindi in Pandara Park.

And most of all, he gave me a wake-up call when he took a group of his countrymen fed on the usual ``us and them`` propaganda, to the Delhi metro, and showed it off with pride as a symbol of ``our`` (read - lentil eater) success in the world.

+++

You have a choice. You can play football if you want to. But if you don`t want to, then don`t try to throw stones either, because the number of people playing football is growing exponentially every hour, and they will chase the ULTRA LENTILS, maybe back into the desert or wherever, where they can suck on cactii while dissecting what Friedman wrote and why he wrote it and who paid for the football.

Re: # 14

Ranger

You write: “Chowk publishes an article which explicitly claims that `for every one Azim Premji there are several such $ billionaire entrepreneurs in Pakistan`”

The exact quote I found in the article is, “For every Azim Premji in India, there are several entrepreneurs in Pakistan.” This quote is not claiming that “several entrepreneurs in Pakistan” are as wealthy as Premji. I believe the context is that entrepreneurship mentality and behavior exist in Pakistan that Friedman overlooks. In fact, the article does say: “Friedman mentions Azim Premji an Indian Muslim entrepreneur then quotes a story about how Pakistan does not provide similar entrepreneurial opportunity. This is a major factual error.”

But perhaps I am looking at a quote different than yours. Can you point me to the quote in this article that explicitly says, “for every one Azim Premji there are several such $ billionaire entrepreneurs in Pakistan”?