the.world.is.flat-第82部分

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


but　if　you　just　go　outside　Bangalore　you　will　see　that　everything　about　India　shining　
is　refuted　。。。　＇In　the　villages＇　alcoholism　is　rife　and　female　infanticide　and　crime　
are　rising。　You　have　to　bribe　to　get　electricity；　water；　you　have　to　bribe　the　tax　
assessor　to　assess　your　home　correctly。　Yes；　the　middle　and　upper　classes　are　taking　


off；　but　the　700　million　who　are　left　behind；　all　they　see　is　gloom　and　darkness　and　
despair。　They　are　born　to　fulfill　their　destiny　and　have　to　live　this　way　and　die　
this　way。　The　only　thing　that　shines　for　them　is　the　sun；　and　it　is　hot　and　unbearable　
and　too　many　of　them　die　of　heatstroke。〃　The　only　〃mouse〃　these　kids　have　ever　
encountered；　she　added；　is　not　one　that　rests　next　to　a　computer　but　the　real　thing。　
There　are　thousands　of　such　villages　in　rural　India；　China；　Africa；　and　Latin　America。　
And　that　is　why　it　is　no　wonder　that　children　in　the　developing　world…the　unflat　
world…are　ten　times　more　likely　to　die　of　vaccine…preventable　diseases　than　are　
children　in　the　developed　flat　world。　In　the　worst…affected　regions　of　rural　southern　
Africa；　a　full　one…third　of　pregnant　women　are　reportedly　HIV…positive。　The　AIDS　
epidemic　alone　is　enough　to　put　a　whole　society　into　a　tailspin：　Many　teachers　in　
these　African　countries　are　now　afflicted　with　AIDS；　so　they　cannot　teach；　and　young　
children；　especially　girls；　have　to　drop　out　either　because　they　must　tend　to　sick　
and　dying　parents　or　because　they　have　been　orphaned　by　AIDS　and　cannot　afford　the　
school　fees。　And　without　education；　young　people　cannot　learn　how　to　protect　
themselves　

from　HIV…AIDS　or　other　diseases；　let　alone　acquire　the　life…advancing　skills　that　
enable　women　to　gain　greater　control　over　their　own　bodies　and　sexual　partners。　The　
prospect　of　a　full…blown　AIDS　epidemic　in　India　and　China；　of　the　sort　that　has　already　
debilitated　southern　Africa；　remains　very　real；　largely　because　only　one…fifth　of　
the　people　at　risk　for　HIV　worldwide　have　access　to　prevention　services。　Tens　of　
millions　of　women　who　want　and　would　benefit　from　family…planning　resources　don't　
have　them　for　lack　of　local　funding。　You　cannot　drive　economic　growth　in　a　place　where　
50　percent　of　the　people　are　infected　with　malaria　or　half　of　the　kids　are　malnourished　
or　a　third　of　the　mothers　are　dying　of　AIDS。　
There　is　no　question　that　China　and　India　are　better　off　for　having　at　least　part　
of　their　population　in　the　flat　world。　When　societies　begin　to　prosper；　you　get　a　
virtuous　cycle　going：　They　begin　to　produce　enough　food　for　people　to　leave　the　land；　
the　excess　labor　gets　trained　and　educated；　it　begins　working　in　services　and　industry；　
that　leads　to　innovation　and　better　education　and　universities；　freer　markets；　
economic　growth　and　development；　better　infrastructure；　fewer　diseases；　and　slower　
population　growth。　It　is　that　dynamic　that　is　going　on　in　parts　of　urban　India　and　
urban　China　today；　enabling　people　to　compete　on　a　level　playing　field　and　attracting　
investment　dollars　by　the　billions。　
But　there　are　many；　many　others　living　outside　this　cycle。　They　live　in　villages　or　
rural　areas　that　only　criminals　would　want　to　invest　in；　regions　where　violence；　civil　
war；　and　disease　compete　with　one　another　to　see　which　can　ravage　the　civilian　
population　most。　The　world　willbe　entirely　flat　only　when　all　these　people　are　brought　
into　it。　One　of　the　few　people　with　enough　dollars　to　make　a　difference　who　has　stepped　
up　to　this　challenge　is　Microsoft　chairman　Bill　Gates；　whose　27　billion　Bill　and　
Melinda　Gates　Foundation　has　focused　on　this　huge；　disease…ravaged；　
opportunity…deprived　population。　I　have　been　a　critic　of　some　of　Microsoft's　business　
practices　over　the　years；　and　I　do　not　regret　one　word　I　have　written　about　some　of　


its　anticompetitive　tactics。　But　I　have　been　impressed　by　Gates's　personal　commitment　
of　money　and　energy　to　address　the　unflat　world。　Both　times　I　spoke　to　Gates；　this　
is　the　subject　he　wanted　to　talk　about　most　and　addressed　with　the　most　passion。　
379　
〃No　one　funds　things　for　that　other　3　billion；〃　said　Gates。　〃Someone　estimated　that　
the　cost　of　saving　a　life　in　the　U。S。　is　5　or　6　million…　that　is　how　much　our　society　
is　willing　to　spend。　You　can　save　a　life　outside　of　the　U。S。　for　less　than　100。　But　
how　many　people　want　to　make　that　investment？　
〃If　it　was　just　a　matter　of　time；〃　Gates　continued；　〃you　know；　give　it　twenty　or　thirty　
years　and　the　others　will　be　there；　then　it　would　be　great　to　declare　that　the　whole　
world　is　flat。　But　the　fact　is；　there　is　a　trap　that　these　3　billion　are　caught　in；　
and　they　may　never　get　into　the　virtuous　cycle　of　more　education；　more　health；　more　
capitalism；　more　rule　of　law；　more　wealth　。。。　I　am　worried　that　it　could　just　be　half　
the　world　that　is　flat　and　it　stays　that　way。〃　
Take　malaria；　a　disease　caused　by　a　parasite　carried　by　mosquitoes。　It　is　the　greatest　
killer　of　mothers　on　the　planet　right　now。　While　virtually　no　one　dies　of　malaria　
today　in　the　flat　world；　more　than　1　million　people　die　from　this　disease　each　year　
in　the　unflat　world；　about　seven　hundred　thousand　of　them　children；　most　of　them　in　
Africa。　Deaths　from　malaria　have　actually　doubled　in　the　last　twenty　years　because　
mosquitoes　have　become　resistant　to　many　antimalarial　drugs；　and　commercial　drug　
companies　have　not　invested　much　in　new　antimalarial　vaccines　because　they　believe　
there　is　no　profitable　market　for　them。　If　this　crisis　were　happening　in　a　flat　country；　
noted　Gates；　the　system　would　work：　Government　would　do　what　it　needed　to　do　to　contain　
the　disease；　pharmaceutical　companies　would　do　what　they　needed　to　do　to　get　the　drugs　
to　market；　schools　would　educate　young　people　about　preventive　measures；　and　the　
problem　would　be　licked。　〃But　this　nice　response　works　only　when　the　people　who　have　
the　problem　also　have　some　money；〃　said　Gates。　When　the　Gates　Foundation　issued　a　
50　million　grant　to　combat　malaria；　he　added；　〃people　said　we　just　doubled　the　amount　
of　money　＇worldwide＇　going　to　fight　malaria　。　。　。　When　the　people　who　have　the　need　
don't　have　the　money；　it　takes　outside　groups　and　charities　to　get　them　to　the　point　
where　the　system　can　kick　in　for　them。〃　
Up　to　now；　though；　argued　Gates；　〃we　have　not　given　these　people　a　chance　＇to　be　in　
the　flat　world＇。　The　kid　who　is　connected　tothe　Internet　today；　if　he　has　the　curiosity　
and　an　Internet　connection；　is　as　＇empow380　
ered＇　as　me。　But　if　he　does　not　get　the　right　nutrition；　he　will　never　play　that　game。　
Yes；　the　world　is　smaller；　but　do　we　really　see　the　conditions　that　people　live　in？　
Isn't　the　world　still　really　big　enough　that　we　don't　see　the　real　conditions　that　
people　live　in；　the　kid　whose　life　can　be　saved　for　80？〃　
Let's　stop　here　for　a　moment　and　imagine　how　beneficial　it　would　be　for　the　world；　
and　for　America；　if　rural　China；　India；　and　Africa　were　to　grow　into　little　Americas　
or　European　Unions　in　economic　and　opportunity　terms。　But　the　chances　of　their　getting　
into　such　a　virtuous　cycle　is　tiny　without　a　real　humanitarian　push　by　flat…world　
businesses；　philanthropies；　and　governments　to　devote　more　resources　to　their　


problems。　The　only　way　out　is　through　new　ways　of　collaboration　between　the　flat　and　
unflat　parts　of　the　world。　
In　2003；　the　Gates　Foundation　launched　a　project　called　Grand　Challenges　in　Global　
Health。　What　I　like　about　it　is　the　way　the　Gates　Foundation　approached　solving　this　
problem。　They　didn't　say；　〃We；　the　rich　Western　foundation；　will　now　deliver　you　the　
solution；〃　and　then　issue　instructions　and　write　some　checks。　They　said；　〃Let's　
collaborate　horizontally　on　defining　both　the　problem　and　the　solutions…let's　create　
value　that　way…and　then　＇the　foundation＇　will　invest　our　money　in　the　solutions　we　
both　define。〃　So　the　Gates　Foundation　placed　ads　on　the　Web　and　in　more　conventional　
channels　across　both　the　developed　and　the　developing　worlds；　asking　scientists　to　
respond　to　one　big　question：　What　are　the　biggest　problems　that；　if　science　attended　
to　them　and　solved　them；　could　most　dramaticallychange　the　fate　of　the　several　billion　
people　trapped　in　the　vicious　cycle　of　infant　mortality；　low　life　expectancy；　and　
disease？　The　foundation　got　about　eight　thousand　pages　of　ideas　from　hundreds　of　
scientists　from　around　the　world；　including　Nobel　laureates。　It　then　culled　through　
them　and　distilled　them　down　to　a　list　of　fourteen　Grand　Challenges…challenges　where　
a　technological　innovation　could　remove　a　critical　barrier　to　the　solving　of　an　
important　health　problem　in　the　developing　world。　In　the　fall　of　2003；　it　announced　
these　fourteen　Grand　Challenges　worldwide。　They　include　the　following：　How　to　create　
effective　single…dose　vaccines　that　can　be　used　soon　after　birth；　how　to　prepare　
vaccines　that　do　not　require　refrigera

tion；　how　to　develop　needle…free　delivery　systems　for　vaccines；　how　to　better　
understand　which　immunological　responses　provide　protective　immunity；　how　to　better　
control　insects　that　transmit　agents　of　disease；　how　to　develop　a　genetic　or　chemical　
strategy　to　incapacitate　a　disease…transmitting　insect　population；　how　to　create　a　
full　range　of　optimal　bioavailable　nutrients　in　a　single　staple　plant　species；　and　
how　to　create　immunological　methods　that　can　cure　chronic　infections。　Within　a　year；　
the　foundation　received　sixteen　hundred　proposals　for　ways　to　meet　these　challenges　
from　scientists　in　seventy…five　countries；　and　the　foundation　is　now　in　the　process　
of　funding　the　best　proposals　with　250　million　in　cash。　
〃We're　trying　to　accomplish　two　things　with　this　program；〃　explained　Rick　Klausner；　
a　former　head　of　the　National　Cancer　Institute　who　now　runs　the　global　health　programs　
for　the　Gates　Foundation。　〃The　first　is　＇to　make＇　a　moral　appeal　to　the　scientific　
imagination；　＇pointing　out＇　that　there　are　great　problems　to　be　solved　that　we；　the　
scientific　community；　have　ignored；　even　though　we　pride　ourselves　in　how　
international　weare。　We　have　not　taken　our　responsibilities　as　globalproblem　solvers　
as　seriously　as　our　self…identity　as　an　international　community。　We