the.world.is.flat-第68部分

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who　can　summon　the　nation　to　get　smarter　and　study　harder　in　science；　math；　and　
engineering　in　order　to　reach　the　new　frontiers　of　knowledge　that　the　flat　world　is　
rapidly　opening　up　and　pushing　out。　And　it　requires　a　Great　Society　that　commits　our　
government　to　building　the　infrastructure；　safety　nets；　and　institutions　that　will　
help　every　American　become　more　employable　in　an　age　when　no　one　can　be　guaranteed　
lifetime　employment。　I　call　my　own　version　of　this　approach　compassionate　flatism。　
Getting　Americans　to　rally　around　compassionate　flatism　is　much　more　difficult　than　
getting　them　to　rally　around　anticommunism。　〃National　
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peril　is　a　lot　easier　to　convey　than　individual　peril；〃　noted　Johns　Hopkins　University　
foreign　policy　expert　Michael　Mandelbaum。　Economics；　as　noted；　is　not　like　war；　
because　economics　can　always　be　a　win…win　game。　But　sometimes　I　wish　economics　were　
more　like　war。　Inthe　Cold　War；　we　actually　got　to　see　the　Soviets　parade　their　missiles　
in　Red　Square。　We　all　got　to　be　scared　together；　from　one　end　of　the　country　to　the　
other；　and　all　our　politicians　had　to　be　focused　and　serious　about　marshaling　the　
resources　and　educational　programs　to　make　sure　Americans　could　keep　pace　with　the　
Soviet　Union。　
But　today；　alas；　there　is　no　missile　threat　coming　from　India。　The　〃hot　line；〃　which　
used　to　connect　the　Kremlin　with　the　White　House；　has　been　replaced　by　the　〃help　line；〃　


which　connects　everyone　in　America　to　call　centers　in　Bangalore。　While　the　other　end　
of　the　hotline　might　have　had　Leonid　Brezhnev　threatening　nuclear　war；　the　other　end　
of　the　help　line　just　has　a　soft　voice　eager　to　help　you　sort　out　your　AOL　bill　or　
collaborate　with　you　on　a　new　piece　of　software。　No；　that　voice　has　none　of　the　menace　
of　Nikita　Khrushchev　pounding　a　shoe　on　the　table　at　the　UN；　and　it　has　none　of　the　
sinister　snarl　of　the　bad　guys　in　From　Russia　with　Love。　There　is　no　Boris　or　Natasha　
saying　〃We　will　bury　you〃　in　a　thick　Russian　accent。　No；　that　voice　on　the　help　line　
just　has　a　friendly　Indian　lilt　that　masks　any　sense　of　threat　or　challenge。　It　simply　
says：　〃Hello；　my　name　is　Rajiv。　Can　I　help　you？〃　
No；　Rajiv；　actually；　you　can't。　
When　it　comes　to　responding　to　the　challenges　of　the　flat　world；　there　is　no　help　
line　we　can　call。　We　have　to　dig　into　ourselves。　We　in　America　have　all　the　tools　
to　do　that；　as　I　argued　in　Chapter　6。　But；　as　I　argued　in　Chapter　7；　we　have　not　been　
tending　to　those　tools　as　we　should。　Hence；　our　quiet　crisis。　The　assumption　that　
because　America's　economy　has　dominated　the　world　for　more　than　a　century；　it　will　
and　must　always　be　that　way　is　as　dangerous　an　illusion　today　as　the　illusion　that　
America　would　always　dominate　in　science　and　technology　was　back　in　1950。　But　this　
is　not　going　to　be　easy。　Getting　our　society　up　to　speed　for　a　flat　world　is　going　
to　be　extremely　painstaking。　We　are　going　to　have　to　start　doing　a　lot　of　things　
differently。　It　is　going　to　take　the　sort　of　focus　and　national　will　that　President　
John　F。　Kennedy　called　for　in　

his　famous　May　25；　1961；　speech　to　Congress　on　〃urgent　national　needs。〃　At　that　time；　
America　was　recovering　from　the　twin　shocks　of　Sputnik　and　the　Soviet　space　launch　
of　a　cosmonaut；　Yuri　Gagarin；　less　than　two　months　before　Kennedy's　speech。　Kennedy　
knew　that　while　America　had　enormous　human　and　institutional　assets…far　more　than　
the　Soviet　Union…they　were　not　being　fully　utilized。　
〃I　believe　we　possess　all　the　resources　andtalents　necessary；〃　said　President　Kennedy。　
〃But　the　facts　of　the　matter　are　that　we　have　never　made　the　national　decisions　or　
marshaled　the　national　resources　required　for　such　leadership。　We　have　never　
specified　long…range　goals　on　an　urgent　time　schedule；　or　managed　our　resources　and　
our　time　so　as　to　ensure　their　fulfillment。〃　After　then　laying　out　his　whole　program　
for　putting　a　man　on　the　moon　within　ten　years；　President　Kennedy　added；　〃Let　it　be　
clear　that　I　am　asking　the　Congress　and　the　country　to　accept　a　firm　commitment　to　
a　new　course　of　action；　a　course　which　will　last　for　many　years　and　carry　very　heavy　
costs。　。　。　This　decision　demands　a　major　national　commitment　of　scientific　and　
technical　manpower；　materiel　and　facilities；　and　the　possibility　of　their　diversion　
from　other　important　activities　where　they　are　already　thinly　spread。　It　means　a　
degree　of　dedication；　organization　and　discipline　which　have　not　always　characterized　
our　research　and　development　efforts。〃　
In　that　speech；　Kennedy　made　a　vow　that　has　amazing　resonance　today：　〃I　am　therefore　
transmitting　to　the　Congress　a　new　Manpower　Development　and　Training　program；　totrain　
or　retrain　several　hundred　thousand　workers；　particularly　in　those　areas　where　we　
have　seen　chronic　unemployment　as　a　result　of　technological　factors；　in　new　


occupational　skills　over　a　four…year　period　…in　order　to　replace　those　skills　made　
obsolete　by　automation　and　industrial　change　with　the　new　skills　which　the　new　
processes　demand。〃　
Amen。　We　too　have　to　do　things　differently。　We　are　going　to　have　to　sort　out　what　
to　keep；　what　to　discard；　what　to　adapt；　what　to　adopt；　where　to　redouble　our　efforts；　
and　where　to　intensify　our　focus。　That　is　what　this　chapter　is　about。　This　is　just　
an　intuition；　but　the　flattening　of　the　world　is　going　to　be　hugely　disruptive　to　
both　traditional　and　developed　societies。　The　weak　will　fall　farther　behind　faster。　
The　traditional　
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will　feel　the　force　of　modernization　much　more　profoundly。　The　new　will　get　turned　
into　old　quicker。　The　developed　will　be　challenged　by　the　underdeveloped　much　more　
profoundly。　I　worry；　because　so　much　political　stability　is　built　on　economic　
stability；　and　economic　stability　is　not　going　to　be　a　feature　of　the　flat　world。　
Add　it　all　up　and　you　can　see　that　the　disruptions　are　going　to　come　faster　and　harder。　
Think　about　Microsoft　trying　to　figure　out　how　to　deal　with　a　global　army　of　people　
writing　software　for　free！　We　are　entering　an　era　of　creative　destruction　on　steroids。　
Even　if　your　country　has　a　comprehensive　strategy　for　dealing　with　flatism；　it　is　
going　to　be　a　challenge　of　a　whole　new　dimension。　But　if　you　don't　have　a　strategy　
at　all。。。　well；　you've　been　warned。　This　is　not　a　test。　
Being　an　American；　I　am　most　focused　on　my　own　country。　How　do　we　go　about　maximizing　
the　benefits　and　opportunities　of　the　flat　world；　and　providing　protection　for　those　
who　have　difficulty　with　the　transition；　without　resorting　to　protectionism　or　
runaway　capitalism？　Some　will　offer　traditional　conservative　responses；　some　will　
offer　traditional　liberal　ones。　I　offer　compassionate　flatism；　which　is　a　policy　blend　
built　around　five　broad　categories　of　action　for　the　age　of　flat：　leadership；　muscle　
building；　cushioning；　social　activism；　and　parenting。　
Leadership　
The　job　of　the　politician　in　America；　whether　at　the　local；　state；　or　national　level；　
should　be；　in　good　part；　to　help　educate　and　explain　to　people　what　world　they　are　
living　in　and　what　they　need　to　do　if　they　want　to　thrive　within　it。　One　problem　we　
have　today；　though；　is　that　so　many　American　politicians　don't　seem　to　have　a　clue　
about　the　flat　world。　As　venture　capitalist　John　Doerr　once　remarked　to　me；　〃You　talk　
to　the　leadership　in　China；　and　they　are　all　the　engineers；　and　they　get　what　is　going　
on　immediately。　The　Americans　don't；　because　they're　all　
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lawyers。〃　Added　Bill　Gates；　〃The　Chinese　have　risk　taking　down；　hard　work　down；　
education；　and　when　you　meet　with　Chinese　politicians；　they　are　all　scientists　and　
engineers。　You　can　have　a　numeric　discussion　with　them…you　are　never　discussing　'give　
me　a　one…liner　to　embarrass　＇my　political　rivals＇　with。'　You　are　meeting　with　an　
intelligent　bureaucracy。〃　
I　am　not　saying　we　should　require　all　politicians　to　hold　engineering　degrees；　but　
it　would　be　helpful　if　they　had　a　basic　understanding　of　the　forces　that　are　flattening　
the　world；　were　able　to　educate　constituents　about　them　and　galvanize　a　response。　


We　have　way　too　many　politicians　in　America　today　who　seem　to　do　the　opposite。　They　
seem　to　go　out　of　their　way　actually　to　make　their　constituents　stupid…encouraging　
them　to　believe　that　certain　jobs　are　〃American　jobs〃　and　can　be　protected　from　foreign　
competition；　or　that　because　America　has　always　dominated　economically　in　our　
lifetimes　it　always　will；　or　that　compassion　should　be　equated　with　protectionism。　
It　is　hard　to　have　an　American　national　strategy　for　dealing　with　flatism　if　people　
won't　even　acknowledge　that　there　is　an　education　gap　emerging　and　that　there　is　an　
ambition　gap　emerging　and　that　we　are　in　a　quiet　crisis。　For　instance；　of　all　the　
policy　choices　that　the　Republican…led　Congress　could　have　made　in　forging　the　FY　
2005　budget；　how　in　the　world　could　it　have　decided　to　cut　the　funding　of　the　National　
Science　Foundation　by　more　than　100　million？　
We　need　politicians　who　are　able　and　willing　to　both　explain　and　inspire。　And　what　
they　most　need　to　explain　to　Americans　is　pretty　much　what　Lou　Gerstner　explained　
to　the　workforce　of　IBM　when　he　took　over　as　chair