the.world.is.flat-第49部分

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〃Everything　is　by　e…mail　now；〃　he　said。　〃I　am　dealing　with　a　young　kid　at　＇one　of　
the　biggest　retailers　in　the　nation＇；　and　he　says；　'Just　e…mail　me　your　bid。'　I've　
never　met　him。　Half　the　time　he　doesn't　get　back　to　me。　I　am　not　sure　how　to　deal　
with　him　。。。　In　the　old　days；　I　used　to　stop　by　the　office；　give　the　buyers　a　few　
Vikings　tickets。　We　were　friends。　。　。　Tommy；　all　anyone　cares　about　today　is　price。〃　
Fortunately；　my　friend　is　a　successful　businessman　and　has　a　range　of　enterprises。　
But　as　I　reflected　later　on　what　he　was　saying；　I　was　drawn　back　to　that　scene　in　
Death　of　a　Salesman　in　which　Willy　Loman　says　that；　unlike　his　colleague　Charley；　
he　intends　to　be　〃well　liked。〃　He　tells　his　sons　that　in　business　and　in　life；　character；　
personality；　and　human　connections　are　more　important　than　smarts。　Says　Willy；　〃The　
man　who　makes　an　appearance　in　the　business　world；　the　man　who　creates　personal　
interest；　is　the　man　who　gets　ahead。　Be　liked　and　you　will　never　want。〃　
Not　when　the　world　goes　flat。　It's　hard　to　create　a　human　bond　with　e…mail　and　streaming　
Internet。　The　next　day；　I　had　dinner　with　my　friend　Ken　Greer；　who　runs　a　media　company　
that　I　discuss　in　greater　detail　later。　Ken　had　a　similar　lament：　So　many　contracts　
were　going　these　days　to　the　advertising　firms　that　were　selling　just　numbers；　not　
creative　instinct。　Then　Ken　said　something　that　really　hit　home　with　me：　〃It　is　like　
they　have　cut　all　the　fat　out　of　the　business〃　and　turned　everything　into　a　numbers　


game。　〃But　fat　is　what　gives　meat　its　taste；〃　Ken　added。　〃The　leanest　cuts　of　meat　
don't　taste　very　good。　You　want　it　marbled　with　at　least　a　little　fat。〃　
The　flattening　process　relentlessly　trims　the　fat　out　of　business　and　life；　but；　as　
Ken　noted；　fat　is　what　gives　life　taste　and　texture。　Fat　is　also　what　keeps　us　warm。　
Yes；　the　consumer　in　us　wants　Wal…Mart　prices；　with　all　the　fat　gone。　But　the　employee　
in　us　wants　a　little　fat　left　on　the　bone；　the　way　Costco　does　it；　so　that　it　can　
offer　health　care　to　almost　all　its　employees；　rather　than　just　less　than　half　of　
them；　as　Wal…Mart　does。　But　the　shareholder　in　us　wants　Wal…Mart's　profit　margins；　
not　Costco's。　Yet　the　citizen　in　us　
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wants　Costco's　benefits；　rather　than　Wal…Mart's；　because　the　difference　ultimately　
may　have　to　be　paid　for　by　society。　The　consumer　in　me　wants　lower　phone　bills；　but　
the　human　being　in　me　also　wants　to　speak　to　an　operator　when　I　call　411。　Yes；　the　
reader　in　me　loves　to　surf　the　Net　and　read　the　bloggers；　but　the　citizen　in　me　also　
wishes　that　some　of　those　bloggers　had　an　editor；　a　middleman；　to　tell　them　to　check　
some　of　their　facts　one　more　time　before　they　pressed　the　Send　button　and　told　the　
whole　world　that　something　was　wrong　or　unfair。　
Given　these　conflicting　emotions　and　pressures；　there　is　potential　here　for　American　
politics　to　get　completely　reshuffled…with　workers　and　corporate　interests　
realigning　themselves　into　different　parties。　Think　about　it：　Social　conservatives　
from　the　right　wing　of　the　Republican　party；　who　do　not　like　globalization　or　closer　
integration　with　the　world　because　it　brings　too　many　foreigners　and　foreign　cultural　
mores　into　America；　might　align　themselves　with　unions　from　the　left　wing　of　the　
Democratic　Party；　who　don't　like　globalization　for　the　way　it　facilitates　the　
outsourcing　and　offshoring　of　jobs。　They　might　be　called　the　Wall　Party　and　militate　
for　more　friction　and　fat　everywhere。　Let's　face　it：　Republican　cultural　
conservatives　have　much　more　in　common　with　the　steelworkers　of　Youngstown；　Ohio；　
the　farmers　of　rural　China；　and　the　mullahs　of　central　Saudi　Arabia；　who　would　also　
like　more　walls；　than　they　do　with　investment　bankers　onWall　Street　orservice　workers　
linked　to　the　global　economy　in　Palo　Alto；　who　have　been　enriched　by　the　flattening　
of　the　world。　
Meanwhile；　the　business　wing　of　the　Republican　Party；　which　believes　in　free　trade；　
deregulation；　more　integration；　and　lower　taxes…everything　that　would　flatten　the　
world　even　more…may　end　up　aligning　itself　with　the　social　liberals　of　the　Democratic　
Party；　many　of　whom　are　East　Coast　or　West　Coast　global　service　industry　workers。　
They　might　also　be　joined　by　Hollywood　and　other　entertainment　workers。　All　of　them　
are　huge　beneficiaries　of　the　flat　world。　They　might　be　called　the　Web　Party；　whose　
main　platform　would　be　to　promote　more　global　integration。　Many　residents　of　Manhattan　
and　Palo　Alto　have　more　interests　in　common　with　the　people　of　Shanghai　and　Bangalore　
than　they　do　
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with　the　residents　of　Youngstown　or　Topeka。　In　short；　in　a　flat　world；　we　are　likely　
to　see　many　social　liberals；　white…collar　global　service　industry　workers；　and　Wall　
Street　types　driven　together；　and　many　social　conservatives；　white…collar　local　


service　industry　workers；　and　labor　unions　driven　together。　
The　Passion　of　the　Christ　audience　will　be　in　the　same　trench　with　the　Teamsters　and　
the　AFL…CIO；　while　the　Hollywood　and　Wall　Street　liberals　and　the　You've　Got　Mail　
crowd　will　be　in　the　same　trench　with　the　high…tech　workers　of　Silicon　Valley　and　
the　global　service　providers　of　Manhattan　and　San　Francisco。　It　will　be　Mel　Gibson　
and　Jimmy　Hoffa　Jr。　versus　Bill　Gates　and　Meg　Ryan。　
More　and　more；　politics　in　the　flat　world　will　consist　of　asking　which　values；　
frictions；　and　fats　are　worth　preserving…which　should；　in　Marx's　language；　be　kept　
solid…and　which　must　be　left　to　melt　away　into　the　air。　Countries；　companies；　and　
individuals　will　be　able　to　give　intelligent　answers　to　these　questions　only　if　they　
understand　the　real　nature　and　texture　of　the　global　playing　field　and　how　different　
it　isfrom　the　one　that　existed　in　the　Cold　War　era　and　before。　And　countries；　companies；　
and　individuals　will　be　able　to　make　sound　political　choices　only　if　they　fully　
appreciate　the　flattened　playing　field　and　understand　all　the　new　tools　now　available　
to　them　for　collaborating　and　competing　on　it。　I　hope　this　book　will　provide　a　nuanced　
framework　for　this　hugely　important　political　debate　and　the　great　sorting　out　that　
is　just　around　the　corner。　
To　that　end；　the　next　three　sections　look　at　how　the　flattening　of　the　world　and　the　
triple　convergence　will　affect　Americans；　developing　countries；　and　companies。　
Brace　yourself：　You　are　now　about　to　enter　the　flat　world。　

America　and　the　Flat　World　

：：：：：　FIVE　

America　and　Free　Trade　
Is　Ricardo　Still　Right？　
As　an　American　who　has　always　believed　in　the　merits　of　free　trade；　I　had　an　important　
question　to　answer　after　my　India　trip：　Should　I　still　believe　in　free　trade　in　a　
fiat　world？　Here　was　an　issue　that　needed　sorting　out　immediately…not　only　because　
it　was　becoming　a　hot　issue　in　the　presidential　campaign　of　2004　but　also　because　
my　whole　view　of　the　flat　world　would　depend　on　my　view　of　free　trade。　I　know　that　
free　trade　won't　necessarily　benefit　every　American；　and　that　our　society　will　have　
to　help　those　who　are　harmed　by　it。　But　for　me　the　key　question　was：　Will　free　trade　
benefit　America　as　a　whole　when　the　world　becomes　so　flat　and　so　many　more　people　
can　collaborate；　and　compete；　with　my　kids？　It　seems　that　so　many　jobs　are　going　to　
be　up　for　grabs。　Wouldn't　individual　Americans　be　better　off　if　our　government　erected　
some　walls　and　banned　some　outsourcing　and　offshoring？　
I　first　wrestled　with　this　issue　while　filming　the　Discovery　Times　documentary　in　
Bangalore。　One　day　we　went　to　the　Infosys　campus　around　five　p。m。　…just　when　the　
Infosys　call…center　workers　were　flooding　into　the　grounds　for　the　overnight　shift　
on　foot；　minibus；　and　motor　scooter；　while　many　of　the　more　advanced　engineers　were　
leaving　at　the　end　of　the　day　shift。　The　crew　and　I　were　standing　at　the　gate　observing　
this　river　of　educated　young　people　flowing　in　and　out；　many　in　animated　conversation。　


They　all　looked　as　if　they　had　scored　1；600　on　their　SATs；　and　I　felt　a　real　mind…eye　
split　overtaking　me。　
My　mind　just　kept　telling　me；　〃Ricardo　is　right；　Ricardo　is　right；　Ricardo　is　right。〃　
David　Ricardo　（1772…1823）　was　the　English　economist　
226　
who　developed　the　free…trade　theory　of　comparative　advantage；　which　stipulates　that　
if　each　nation　specializes　in　the　production　of　goods　in　which　it　has　a　comparative　
cost　advantage　and　then　trades　with　other　nations　for　the　goods　in　which　they　
specialize；　there　will　be　an　overall　gain　in　trade；　and　overall　income　levels　should　
rise　in　each　trading　country。　So　if　all　these　Indian　techies　were　doing　what　was　their　
comparative　advantage　and　then　turning　around　and　using　their　income　to　buy　all　the　
products　from　America　that　are　our　comparative　advantage…from　Corning　Glass　to　
Microsoft　Windows…both　our　countries　would　benefit；　even　if　some　individual　Indians　
or　Americans　might　have　to　shift　jobs　in　the　transition。　And　one　can　see　evidence　
of　this　mutual　benefit　in　the　sharp　increase　in　exports　and　imports　between　the　United　
States　and　India　in　recent　years。　
But　my　eye　kept　looking　at　all　these　Indian　zippies　and　telling　me　something　else：　
〃Oh；　my　God；　there　are　so　many　of　them；　and　they　all　look　so　serious；　so　eager　for　
work。　And　they　just　keep　coming；　wave　after　wave。　How　in　the　world　can　it　possibly　
be　good　for　my　daughters　and　millions　of　other　young　Americans　that　these　Indians　
can　do　the　same　jobs　as　they　can　for　a　fraction　of　the　wages？〃　
When　Ricardo　was　writing；　goods　were　tradable；　but　for　the　most　part　knowledge　work　
and　services　were　not。　There　was　no　undersea　fiberoptic　cable　to　make　knowledge　jobs　
tradable　between　America　and　India　back　then。　Just　as　I　was　getting　worked　up　with　
worry；　the　Infosys　spokeswoman　accompanying　me　casually　mentioned　that　last　year　
Infosys　India　received　〃one　million　applications〃　from　young　Indians　for　nine　
thousand　tech　jobs。　
Have　a　nice　day。　
I　struggled　over　what　to　make　of　this　scene。　I　don't　want　to　see　any　American　lose　
his　or　her　job　to　foreign　competition　or　to　technological　innovation。　I　sure　wouldn't　
want　to　lose　mine。　When　you　lose　your　job；　the　unemployment　rate　is　not　5。2　percent；　
it's　100　percent。　Nobook　about　the　flat　world　wou