Month: January 2013

Those who force themselves to read the New York Times encounter Thomas Friedman, the world’s smartest columnist, according to himself.

What less-than-regular readers may not realize is that, in fact, every Friedman column is an example of self-plagiarism.

What’s my proof? The Thomas Friedman Op-Ed Generator! Now you can read every Friedman column before it’s written.

Friedman is the author of The World Is Flat, which is the theme of approximately half his columns. Such as “The World Is Flatter“:

Yesterday’s news from Palestine is unbelievable, and it raises questions about whether there might just be light at the end of the tunnel. It is impossible not to be tantalized by the potential of these events to change the course of Palestine’s history. What’s important, however, is that we focus on what this means to the citizens themselves. The current administration seems too caught up in spinning the facts to pay attention to the important effects on daily life. Just call it missing the fields for the wheat.

When thinking about the recent turmoil, it’s important to remember three things: One, people don’t behave like car salesmen, so attempts to treat them as such are a waste of time. Car salesmen never suddenly blow themselves up. Two, Palestine has spent decades torn by civil war and ethnic hatred, so a mindset of peace and stability will seem foreign and strange. And three, capitalism is an extraordinarily powerful idea: If authoritarianism is Palestine’s ironing board, then capitalism is certainly its flowerpot.

When I was in Palestine last month, I was amazed by the people’s basic desire for a stable life, and that tells me two things. It tells me that the citizens of Palestine have no shortage of human capital, and that is a good beginning to grow from. Second, it tells me that people in Palestine are just like people anywhere else on this flat earth of ours.

So what should we do about the chaos in Palestine? Well, it’s easier to start with what we should not do. We should not ignore the problem and pretend it will go away. Beyond that, we need to be careful to nurture the fragile foundations of peace.

Consider “The World We’re Actually Living In“:

What has been going on in Malaysia is truly historic, and it has been on my mind ever since it began. It is impossible not to be tantalized by the potential of these events to change the course of Malaysia’s history. What’s important, however, is that we focus on what this means on the street. The current administration seems too caught up in dissecting the macro-level situation to pay attention to the important effects on daily life. Just call it missing the myths for the lie.

When thinking about the ongoing turmoil, it’s important to remember three things: One, people don’t behave like lemmings, so attempts to treat them as such inevitably look foolish. Lemmings never suddenly shift their course in order to fit with a predetermined set of beliefs. Two, Malaysia has spent decades being batted back and forth between colonial powers, so a mindset of peace and stability will seem foreign and strange. And three, capitalism is an extraordinarily powerful idea: If corruption is Malaysia’s ironing board, then capitalism is certainly its tabletop.

When I was in Malaysia last week, I was amazed by the level of Westernization for such a closed society, and that tells me two things. It tells me that the citizens of Malaysia have no shortage of potential entrepreneurs, and that is a good beginning to grow from. Second, it tells me that people in Malaysia are just like people anywhere else on this flat earth of ours.

Then there’s “Two Worlds Cracking Up“:

Imagine if grassroots activists sat down with ordinary people like you and me and ironed out some real solutions to our capital gains crisis.

With the election season over, maybe you’ve forgotten about capital gains, but I certainly haven’t. It would be easy to forget that the problem even exists, when our headlines are constantly splashed with the violence in Cambodia, the authoritarian crackdown in Burundi and the still-unstable democratic transition in Venezuela. But the capital gains problem is growing, and politicians are more divided than ever. Democrats seem to think that capital gains can just be ignored. Republican politicians like Marco Rubio, on the other hand, seem to think that nonsensical rhetoric will substitute for a argument.

But the Republican party of Marco Rubio is not the Republican party of Teddy Roosevelt. Roosevelt wouldn’t refuse to budge, he’d compromise because he’d understand that the fate of the country, and his own political career, depended on a lasting solution to the problem of capital gains.

Let’s make America for the world what Cape Canaveral was to America: the world’s greatest launching pad. If I had fifteen minutes to pitch my idea to politicians, I’d tell them two things about capital gains. First, there’s no way around the issue unless we’re prepared to spend more: and not just spend more, but spend smarter by investing in the kind of green energy that makes countries succeed. That’s going to require some tax increases as well, but as they say, “Ain’t nothing to it but to do it.”

According to Friedman, it’s “Time for Leadership“:

An interesting thought occurred to me today—what if grassroots activists sat down with ordinary people like you and me and ironed out some real solutions to our health insurance crisis?

With the election season over, maybe you’ve forgotten about health insurance, but I certainly haven’t. It would be easy to forget that the problem even exists, when our headlines are constantly splashed with the violence in Cape Verde, the authoritarian crackdown in Italy and the still-unstable democratic transition in Russia. But the health insurance problem is growing, and politicians are more divided than ever. Republicans seem to think that health insurance can just be ignored. Democratic politicians like Harry Reid, on the other hand, seem to think that nonsensical rhetoric will substitute for a argument.

But the Democratic party of Harry Reid is not the Democratic party of Franklin Roosevelt. FDR wouldn’t just filibuster, he’d break ranks with members of his own party because he’d understand that the fate of the country, and his own political career, depended on a lasting solution to the problem of health insurance.

Let’s make America for the world what Cape Canaveral was to America: the world’s greatest launching pad. If I had fifteen minutes to pitch my idea to politicians, I’d tell them two things about health insurance. First, there’s no way around the issue unless we’re prepared to spend less: and not just spend less, but spend smarter by investing in the kind of national infrastructure that makes countries succeed. That’s going to require some tax cuts as well, but as they say, “When in Rome.”

But Friedman does not limit himself to international commentary. Not when he sees “Obama’s Moment“:

Imagine if academics sat down with ordinary people like you and me and ironed out some real solutions to our same-sex marriage crisis.

With the election season over, maybe you’ve forgotten about same-sex marriage, but I certainly haven’t. It would be easy to forget that the problem even exists, when our headlines are constantly splashed with the violence in Suriname, the authoritarian crackdown in Kosovo and the still-unstable democratic transition in Afghanistan. But the same-sex marriage problem is growing, and politicians are more divided than ever. Democrats seem to think that same-sex marriage can just be ignored. Republican politicians like Mitch McConnell, on the other hand, seem to think that unscientific rhetoric will substitute for a compromise.

But the Republican party of Mitch McConnell is not the Republican party of Lincoln. Lincoln wouldn’t refuse to budge, he’d break ranks with members of his own party because he’d understand that the fate of the country, and his own political career, depended on a lasting solution to the problem of same-sex marriage.

The first rule of holes is that when you’re in one, stop digging. When you’re in three, bring a lot of shovels. If I had fifteen minutes to pitch my idea to politicians, I’d tell them two things about same-sex marriage. First, there’s no way around the issue unless we’re prepared to spend less: and not just spend less, but spend smarter by investing in the kind of human capital that makes countries succeed. That’s going to require some tax cuts as well, but as they say, “Mo’ money mo’ problems.”

Second, I’d tell them to look at China, which all but solved its same-sex marriage crisis over the past decade. When I visited China in 2000, Mbantu, the cabbie who drove me from the airport, couldn’t stop telling me about how he had to take a second job because of the high cost of same-sex marriage. I caught up with Mbantu in Shanghai last year. Thanks to China’s reformed approach toward same-sex marriage, Mbantu has enough money in his pocket to finally be able to afford an apartment for his kids.

It should be appalling that a columnist is so predictable that someone could actually create that kind of website. Maybe it’s time for Friedman to go on another sabbatical to develop some original ideas and insights.