Conclusion: Imagination: Chapter 15

Summary

In this final chapter, Friedman emphasizes the competing forms of imagination at work in the world today, which are seen in the differences of 11/9 (the day the Berlin Wall came down) and 9/11. For Friedman, 11/9 represented a more open world. 9/11, conversely, demonstrated how evil imaginations could close the world up. To further illustrate the divergent powers of imagination, Friedman considers two airlines that were formed in 1999. The first airline was JetBlue founded by David Neeleman. JetBlue began the paperless ticket system and provided jobs for retirees and stay-at-home moms. The other airline was conceived of by Osama bin Laden and was destined to crash into the World Trade Center. Friedman unfurls how the plans for 9/11, as elaborated in the 9/11 Commission Report, were.........

Notes

Many times at the conclusion of a novel, or essay, or non-fiction piece, such as this text and author undoes much of the careful work he or she has woven throughout the piece in an effort to evoke emotion. In the final section of The World is Flat Friedman invokes the trite notion of the kinds of imaginations people could have in the flat world, which..........

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