Thomas Friedman’s “Thank You For Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving” — A summary and a 5+ year review

A Review

In his dedication, Thomas Friedman thought that this could be his last book. He wrote this on the eve of the Trump presidency, that would cause American society and politics to be teetering on chaos.

This book revisits many of the trends that he had observed in the past, and streamlines it again for the reader. He thought that the world was in a throes of another Great Acceleration, as computing technologies, globalisation, and climate weirding were affecting everyone, while at the same time, allowing individuals to be even more empowered than ever before. He also described a “World of Disorder” referring to countries that had failed to pass tests of governance, often leading to social depravation and economic degradation at the same time. Looking at the way climate crisis was unfolding, even the advanced world would not be immune to the challenges as even more people from the “World of Disorder” might attempt to get to the advanced world, causing even more crises.

His strategy of using nature as an exemplar for strategy in this era was … a little too strained. Although there are definitely good illustrations, comparing them to specific policies seems a stretch. He proposes a series of policies…