Gray on Friedman

John Gray takes some shots at Friedmans book "The World is flat".

I must admit that I am a fan of Thomas Friedman and his "neo-liberal" view. I believe that globalization and free markets will lead to a more peaceful and more just world.

Gray writes "Over the past two hundred years, the spread of capitalism and industrialization has gone hand in hand with war and revolution. It is a fact that would not have surprised Marx. Why do Friedman and other neoliberals believe things will be any different in the twenty-first century?"

This is a classic canned argument that can be used against any theory or any time period. Why? Because there have always been wars and revolutions! Violence is a function of humanity. Evidence of wars can be found in every culture on every continent in every time period.(except maybe Tibet, but then we see how good that worked out for them)