the.world.is.flat-第84部分

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Empire　that　America　began　to…or　was　perceived　to…touch　people's　lives　around　the　
planet；　directly　or　indirectly；　more　than　their　own　governments　did。　As　people　around　
the　world　began　to　intuit　this；　a　movement　emerged；　which　Seattle　both　reflected　and　
helped　to　catalyze；　whereby　people　said；　in　effect；　〃If　America　is　now　touching　my　
life　directly　or　indirectly　more　than　my　own　government；　then　I　want　to　have　a　vote　
in　America's　power。〃　At　the　time　of　Seattle；　the　〃touching〃　that　people　were　most　
concerned　with　was　from　American　economic　and　cultural　power；　and　therefore　the　demand　
for　a　vote　tended　to　focus　around　economic　rule…making　in386　
stitutions　like　the　World　Trade　Organization。　America　in　the　1990s；　under　President　


Clinton；　was　perceived　as　a　big　dumb　dragon；　pushing　people　around　in　the　economic　
and　cultural　spheres；　knowingly　and　unknowingly。　We　were　Puff　the　Magic　Dragon；　and　
people　wanted　a　vote　in　what　we　were　puffing。　
Then　came　9/11。　And　America　transformed　itself　from　Puff　the　Magic　Dragon；　touching　
people　around　the　world　economically　and　culturally；　into　Godzilla　with　an　arrow　in　
his　shoulder；　spitting　fire　and　tossing　around　his　tail　wildly；　touching　people's　
lives　in　military　and　security　terms；　not　just　economic　and　cultural　ones。　As　that　
happened；　people　in　the　world　began　to　say；　〃Now　we　really　want　a　vote　in　how　America　
wields　its　power〃…and　in　many　ways　the　whole　Iraq　war　debate　was　a　surrogate　debate　
about　that。　
Finally；　the　fifth　force　in　this　movement　was　a　coalition　of　very　serious；　
well…meaning；　and　constructive　groups…from　environmentalists　to　trade　activists　to　
NGOs　concerned　with　governance…who　became　part　of　the　populist　antiglobalization　
movement　in　the　1990s　in　the　hopes　that　they　could　catalyze　a　global　discussion　about　
how　we　globalize。　I　had　a　lot　of　respect　and　sympathy　for　this　latter　group。　But　in　
the　end　they　got　drowned　out　by　the　whether…we…globalize　crowd；　which　began　to　turn　
the　movement　more　violent　at　the　July　2001　Genoa　G…8　summit；　when　an　antiglobalization　
protester　was　killed　while　attacking　an　Italian　police　jeep　with　a　fire　extinguisher。　
The　combination　of　the　triple　convergence；　the　violence　at　Genoa；　9/11；　and　tighter　
security　measures　fractured　the　antiglobalization　movement。　The　more　serious　
how…we…globalize　groups　did　not　want　to　be　in　the　same　trench　with　anarchists　out　
to　provoke　a　public　clash　with　police；　and　after　9/11；　many　American　labor　groups　
did　not　want　to　be　associated　with　a　movement　that　appeared　to　be　taken　over　by　
anti…American　elements。　This　became　even　more　pronounced　when　in　late　September　2001；　
three　weeks　after　9/11；　antiglobalization　leaders　attempted　a　rerun　of　Genoa　in　the　
streets　of　Washington；　to　protest　the　IMF　and　World　Bank　meetings　there。　After　9/11；　
though；　the　IMF　and　World　Bank　canceled　their　meetings；　and　many　American　protesters　
shied　away。　Those　who　did　turn　up　in　the　streets　of　Washington　turned　the　event　into　
a　march　against　

the　imminent　American　invasion　of　Afghanistan　to　remove　Osama　bin　Laden　and　al…Qaeda。　
At　the　same　time；　with　the　triple　convergence　making　the　Chinese；　Indians；　and　Eastern　
Europeans　some　of　the　biggest　beneficiaries　of　globalization；　it　was　no　longer　
possible　to　claim　that　this　phenomenon　was　devastating　the　world's　poor。　Just　the　
opposite：　Millions　of　Chinese　and　Indians　were　entering　the　world's　middle　class　
thanks　to　the　flattening　of　the　world　and　globalization。　
So　asthe　how…we…globalize　forces　drifted　away；　and　as　the　number　ofThird　World　people　
benefiting　from　globalization　began　to　grow；　and　as　America　under　the　Bush　
administration　began　to　exercise　more　unilateral　military　power；　the　anti…American　
element　in　the　antiglobalization　movement　began　to　assume　a　much　louder　voice　and　
role。　As　a　result；　the　movement　itself　became　both　more　anti…American　and　more　unable　
and　unwilling　to　play　any　constructive　role　in　shaping　the　global　debate　on　how　we　
globalize；　precisely　when　such　a　role　has　become　even　more　important　as　the　world　
has　gotten　flatter。　As　Hebrew　University　political　theorist　Yaron　Ezrahi　so　aptly　


noted；　〃The　important　task　of　enlisting　the　people's　power　to　influence　
globalism…making　it　more　compassionate；　fair；　and　compatible　with　human　dignity…is　
way　too　important　to　be　wasted　on　crass　anti…Americanism　or　left　in　the　hands　of　only　
anti…Americans。〃　
There　is　a　huge　political　vacuum　now　waiting　to　be　filled。　There　is　a　real　role　today　
for　a　movement　that　could　advance　the　agenda　of　how　we　globalize…not　whether　we　
globalize。　The　best　place　such　a　movement　could　start　is　rural　India。　
〃Both　the　Congress　＇Party＇　and　its　left　allies　would　be　risking　India's　future　if　
they　draw　the　wrong　conclusion　from　this　＇2004＇　election；〃　Pratap　Bhanu　Mehta；　who　
heads　the　Center　for　Policy　Research　in　Delhi；　wrote　in　The　Hindu　newspaper。　〃This　
is　not　a　revolt　against　the　market；　it　is　a　protest　against　the　state；　this　is　not　
resentment　against　the　gains　of　liberalization；　but　a　call　for　the　state　to　put　its　
house　in　order　through　even　more　reform　。　。　。　The　revolt　against　holders　of　power　
is　not　a　revolt　of　the　poor　against　the　rich：　ordinary　people　are　far　less　prone　to　
resent　other　people's　success　than　intellectuals　suppose。　It　is　rather　an　expression　
of　the　fact　that　the　reform　of　the　state　has　not　gone　far　enough。〃　

This　is　why　the　most　important　forces　righting　poverty　in　India　today；　in　my　view；　
are　those　NGOs　righting　for　better　local　governance；　using　the　Internet　and　other　
modern　tools　of　the　flat　world　to　put　a　spotlight　on　corruption；　mismanagement；　and　
tax　avoidance。　The　most　important；　effective；　and　meaningful　populists　in　the　world　
today　are　not　those　handing　out　money。　They　are　those　with　an　agenda　to　drive　reform　
retail　at　the　local　level　in　their　countries…to　make　it　easier　for　the　little　man　
or　woman　to　register　his　or　her　land；　even　if　they　are　squatters；　to　start　a　business；　
no　matter　how　small；　and　to　get　minimal　justice　from　thelegal　system。　Modern　populism；　
to　be　effective　and　meaningful；　should　be　about　reform　retail　…making　globalization　
workable；　sustainable；　and　fair　for　more　people　by　improving　their　local　governance；　
so　that　the　money　that　has　already　been　earmarked　for　the　poor　actually　gets　to　them　
and　so　that　their　natural　entrepreneurship　can　get　unlocked。　It　is　through　local　
government　that　people　plug　into　the　system　and　get　to　enjoy　the　benefits　of　the　
flattening　world　rather　than　just　observe　them。　The　average　Indian　villagers　cannot　
be　likethe　Indian　high…tech　companies　and　just　circumvent　the　governmentby　supplying　
their　own　electricity；　their　own　water　resources；　their　own　security；　their　own　bus　
system；　andtheir　own　satellite　dishes。　They　need　the　state　for　that。　The　market　cannot　
be　counted　on　to　make　up　for　the　failure　of　the　state　to　deliver　decent　governance。　
The　state　has　to　get　better。　Precisely　because　the　Indian　state　opted　for　a　
globalization　strategy　in　1991　and　abandoned　fifty　years　of　socialism…which　had　
brought　its　foreign　reserves　to　near　zero…New　Delhi　had　reserves　in　2004　of　100　
billion；　giving　it　the　resources　to　help　more　of　its　people　into　the　flat　arena。　
Ramesh　Ramanathan；　an　Indian…born　former　Citibank　executive　who　returned　to　India　
to　lead　an　NGO　called　Janaagraha；　dedicated　to　improving　local　governance；　is　
precisely　the　kind　of　new　populist　I　have　in　mind。　〃In　India；〃　he　said；　〃clients　of　
public　education　are　sending　a　signal　about　the　quality　of　service　delivery：　Whoever　
can　afford　to　opt　out　does　so。　The　same　goes　for　health　care。　Given　the　escalating　


costs　of　health　care；　if　we　had　a　solid　public　health…care　system；　most　citizens　would　
opt　to　use　it；　not　just　the　poor。　Ditto　for　roads；　highways；　water　supply；　sanitation；　
registration　of　births　and　deaths；　crematoria；　driver's　li389　
censes；　and　so　on。　Wherever　the　government　provides　these　services；　it　＇should　be＇　
for　the　benefit　of　all　citizens。　＇But＇　in　fact；　in　some　of　these；　like　water　supply　
and　sanitation；　the　poor　are　actually　not　even　getting　the　same　basic　services　as　
the　middle　class　and　the　rich。　The　challenge　here　is　therefore　universal　access。〃　
Getting　NGOs　that　can　collaborate　on　the　local　level　to　ensure　that　the　poor　get　the　
infrastructure　and　budgets　to　which　they　are　entitled　could　have　a　major　impact　on　
poverty　alleviation。　
So　although　this　may　sound　odd　coming　from　me；　it　is　totally　consistent　with　this　
whole　book：　What　the　world　doesn't　need　now　is　for　the　antiglobalization　movement　
to　go　away。　We　just　need　it　to　grow　up。　This　movement　had　a　lot　of　energy　and　a　lot　
of　mobilizing　capacity。　What　it　lacked　was　a　coherent　agenda　for　assisting　the　poor　
by　collaborating　with　them　in　a　way　that　could　actually　help　them。　The　activist　groups　
that　are　helping　alleviate　poverty　the　most　are　those　working　at　the　local　village　
level　in　places　like　rural　India；　Africa；　and　China　to　spotlight　and　fight　corruption　
and　to　promote　accountability；　transparency；　education；　and　property　rights。　You　
don't　help　the　world's　poor　by　dressing　up　in　a　turtle　outfit　and　throwing　a　stone　
through　McDonald's　window。　You　help　them　by　getting　them　the　tools　and　institutions　
to　help　themselves。　It　may　not　be　as　sexy　as　protesting　against　world　leaders　in　the　
streets　of　Washington　and　Genoa；　and　getting　lots　of　attention　on　CNN；　but　it　is　a　
lot　more　important。　Just　ask　any　Indian　villager。　
Collaboration　in　poverty　alleviation　is　not　just　for　NGOs。　It　is　also　for　
multinational　corporations。　The　rural　poor　in　India；　Africa；　and　China　represent　a　
huge　market；　and　it　is　possible　to　make　money　there　and　serve　them　…if　companies　are　
ready　to　collaborate　horizontally　with　the　poor。　One　of　the　most　interesting　examples　
I　have　come　across　of　this　form　of　collaboration　is　a　program　run　by　Hewlett…Packard。　
HP　is　not　an　NGO。　HP　began　with　a　simple　question：　What　do　poor　people　need　most　that　
we　could　sell　to　them？　You　cannot　design　this　stuff　in　Palo　Alto；　you　have　to　cocreate　
with　the　user…customer　beneficiary。　In　order　to　answer　that　question；　HP　created　a　
public…private