[1] In The World Is Flat, Friedman recounts a journey to Bangalore, India, when he realized that globalization had changed core economic concepts.

[2] In his opinion, this flattening is a product of the convergence of the personal computer with fiber optic microcables and the rise of workflow software.

In his previous book The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Friedman argued that no two nations with a McDonald's franchise had ever gone to war with one another; this was known as the Golden Arches theory.

Thomas Friedman also warns that the Dell theory should not be interpreted as a guarantee that nations that are deeply involved in global supply chains will not go to war with each other.

The World Is Flat received generally favorable reviews.The Washington Post called the book an "engrossing tour" and an "enthralling read".

[5] An opposing viewpoint was found in a 2007 Foreign Policy magazine article in which economist Pankaj Ghemawat argued that 90% of the world's phone calls, Web traffic, and investments are local, suggesting that Friedman has grossly exaggerated the significance of the trends he describes: "Despite talk of a new, wired world where information, ideas, money, and people can move around the planet faster than ever before, just a fraction of what we consider globalization actually exists.