the.world.is.flat-第47章

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not　sweatshops；　they　want　brand　names；　not　junk；　they　want　to　trade　their　motor　
scooters　for　cars　and　their　pens　and　pencils　for　computers。　And　the　more　they　do　that；　
the　higher　they　climb；　the　more　room　is　created　at　the　top…because　the　more　they　have；　
the　more　they　spend；　the　more　diverse　product　markets　become；　and　the　more　niches　
for　specialization　are　created　as　well。　

Look　at　what　is　happening　already：　As　American　companies　send　knowledge　work　to　India；　
Indian　companies　are　turning　around　and　using　their　earnings　and　insights　to　start　
inventing　new　products　that　poorer　Indians　can　use　to　lift　themselves　out　of　poverty　
into　the　middle　class；　where　they　will　surely　become　consumers　of　American　products。　
BusinessWeek　cited　the　Tata　Motors　factory；　near　Pune；　south　of　Mumbai；　〃where　a　group　
of　young　designers；　technicians；　and　marketers　pore　over　drawings　and　examine　samples　
of　steel　and　composite　plastics。　By　early　next　year；　they　plan　to　design　a　prototype　
for　Tata　Group's　most　ambitious　project　yet：　a　compact　car　that　will　sell　for　2；200。　
The　company　hopes　the　car　will　beat　out　Suzuki's　5；000　Maruti　compact　to　become　
India's　cheapest　car…and　an　export　model　for　the　rest　of　the　developing　world。　'This　
is　the　need　of　the　day　in　India…a　people's　car；'　says　Ratan　Tata；　chairman　of　the　
12。5　billion　Tata　Group。　Indians　are　increasingly　demanding　better　products　and　
services　at　an　affordable　cost。　Strong　economic　growth　this　year　will　only　enlarge　
that　demand。　The　phrase　'Made　in　India'　may　come　to　represent　low…cost　innovation　
in　the　new　global　economy〃　（October　11；　2004）。　
Raghuram　Rajan；　the　director　of　research　for　the　International　Monetary　Fund；　sits　


on　the　board　of　a　company　that　puts　Indian　students　to　work　tutoring　students　in　
Singapore。　The　students；　from　the　Indian　Institute　of　Technology　in　Madras；　go　online　
to　help　students　in　Singapore；　from　grades　six　to　twelve；　on　their　math　homework。　
They　also　help　teachers　in　Singapore　develop　lesson　plans　and　prepare　PowerPoint　
presentations　or　other　jazzy　ways　for　them　to　teach　math。　The　company；　called　
Heymath。com；　is　paid　for　by　the　schools　in　Singapore。　Cambridge　University　in　England　
is　also　part　of　this　equation；　providing　the　overall　quality　controls　and　certifying　
the　lesson　plans　and　teaching　methods。　
〃Everyone　wins；〃　saysRajan。　〃The　company　is　run　by　two　Indians　who　worked　for　Citibank　
and　CSFB　in　London　and　came　back　to　India　to　start　this　business。　。　。　Cambridge　
University　is　making　money　from　a　company　that　has　created　a　whole　new　niche。　The　
Indian　students　are　making　pocket　money。　And　the　Singapore　students　are　learning　
better。〃　Meanwhile；　the　underlying　software　is　probably　being　provided　by　Microsoft　
and　the　chips　by　Intel；　and　the　enriched　Indian　students　are　

probably　buying　cheap　personal　computers　from　Apple；　Dell；　or　HP。　But　you　can't　really　
see　any　of　this。　〃The　pie　grew；　but　no　one　saw　it；〃　said　Rajan。　
An　essay　in　the　McKinsey　Quarterly；　〃Beyond　Cheap　Labor：　Lessons　for　Developing　
Economies〃　（January　2005）；　offers　a　nice　example　of　this：　〃In　northern　Italy's　textile　
and　apparel　industry　。　。　。　the　majority　of　garment　production　has　moved　to　lower…cost　
locations；　but　employment　remains　stable　because　companies　have　put　more　resources　
into　tasks　such　as　designing　clothes　and　coordinating　global　production　networks。〃　
It　is　so　easy　to　demonize　free　markets…and　the　freedom　to　outsource　and　
offshore…because　it　is　so　much　easier　to　see　people　being　laid　off　than　being　hired。　
But　occasionally　a　newspaper　tries　to　dig　deep　into　the　issue。　My　hometown　paper；　
the　Minneapolis　Star　Tribune；　did　just　that。　It　looked　at　exactly　how　the　Minnesota　
economy　was　being　affected　by　the　flattening　of　the　world；　actually　daring　to　run　
an　article　on　September　5；　2004；　headlined；　〃Offshore　Jobs　Bring　Gains　at　Home。〃　The　
article；　date…lined　Wuxi；　China；　began　like　this：　〃Outside　the　air　is　dank；　dusty　
and　hot　as　tropical　fever。　Inside；　in　an　environment　that's　dry；　spotless　and　cool；　
hundreds　of　former　farm　laborers　covered　head　to　toe　in　suits　looking　like　something　
out　of　NASA　are　performing　work　for　Bloomington…based　Donaldson　Co。　Inc。。。。　In　
Donaldson's　case；　the　company　has　twice　as　many　workers　in　China…2；500…as　the　1；100　
it　has　in　Bloomington。　The　Chinese　operation　not　only　has　allowed　Donaldson　to　keep　
making　a　product　it　no　longer　could　make　at　a　profit　in　the　United　States；　it　also　
has　helped　boost　the　company's　Minnesota　employment；　up　by　400　people　since　1990。　
Donaldson's　highly　paid　engineers；　chemists　and　designers　in　Minnesota　spend　their　
days　designing　updated　filters　that　the　Chinese　plant　will　make　for　use　in　computers；　
MP3　players　and　digital　video　recorders。　The　falling　disk…drive　prices　made　possible　
by　Chinese　production　are　feeding　demand　for　the　gadgets。　'If　we　didn't　follow　＇the　
trend＇；　we'd　be　out　of　business；'　said　David　Timm；　general　manager　of　Donaldson's　
disk…drive　and　microelectronics　unit。　In　Minnesota；　Global　Insight　estimates　that　
1；854　jobs　were　created　as　a　result　of　foreign　outsourcing　in　2003。　By　2008；　the　firm　
expects　nearly　6；700　new　jobs　in　Minnesota　as　a　consequence　of　the　trend。〃　


Economists　often　compare　China's　and　India's　entry　into　the　global　economy　to　the　
moment　when　the　railroad　lines　crossing　America　finally　connected　New　Mexico　to　
California；　with　its　much　larger　population。　〃When　the　railroad　comes　to　town；〃　noted　
Vivek　Paul；　the　Wipro　president；　〃the　first　thing　you　see　is　extra　capacity；　and　all　
the　people　in　New　Mexico　say　those　people…Californians…will　wipe　out　all　our　factories　
along　the　line。　That　will　happen　in　some　areas；　and　some　companies　along　the　line　
will　go　out　of　business。　But　then　capital　will　get　reallocated。　In　the　end；　everyone　
along　the　line　will　benefit。　Sure；　there　is　fear；　and　that　fear　is　good　because　that　
stimulates　a　willingness　to　change　and　explore　and　find　more　things　to　do　better。〃　
It　happened　when　we　connected　New　York；　New　Mexico；　and　California。　It　happened　when　
we　connected　Western　Europe；　America；　and　Japan。　And　it　will　happen　when　we　connect　
India　and　China　with　America；　Europe；　and　Japan。　The　way　to　succeed　is　not　by　stopping　
the　railroad　line　from　connecting　you；　but　by　upgrading　your　skills　and　making　the　
investment　in　those　practices　that　will　enable　you　and　your　society　to　claim　your　
slice　of　the　bigger　but　more　complex　pie。　
：：：：：　SIX　
The　Untouchables　
So　if　the　flattening　of　the　world　is　largely　（but　not　entirely）　unstoppable；　and　holds　
out　the　potential　to　be　as　beneficial　to　American　society　as　a　whole　as　past　market　
evolutions　have　been；　how　does　an　individual　get　the　best　out　of　it？　What　do　we　tell　
our　kids？　
There　is　only　one　message：　You　have　to　constantly　upgrade　your　skills。　There　will　
be　plenty　of　good　jobs　out　there　in　the　flat　world　for　people　with　the　knowledge　and　
ideas　to　seize　them。　
I　am　not　suggesting　this　will　be　simple。　It　will　not　be。　There　will　be　a　lot　of　other　
people　out　there　also　trying　to　get　smarter。　It　was　never　good　to　be　mediocre　in　your　
job；　but　in　a　world　of　walls；　mediocrity　could　still　earn　you　a　decent　wage。　In　a　
flatter　world；　you　really　do　not　want　to　be　mediocre。　You　don't　want　to　find　yourself　
in　the　shoes　of　Willy　Loman　in　Death　of　a　Salesman；　when　his　son　Biff　dispels　his　
idea　that　the　Loman　family　is　special　by　declaring；　〃Pop！　I'm　a　dime　a　dozen；　and　
so　are　you！〃　An　angry　Willy　retorts；　〃I　am　not　a　dime　a　dozen！　I　am　Willy　Loman；　and　
you　are　Biff　Loman！〃　
I　don't　care　to　have　that　conversation　with　my　girls；　so　my　advice　to　them　in　this　
flat　world　is　very　brief　and　very　blunt：　〃Girls；　when　I　was　growing　up；　my　parents　
used　to　say　to　me；　'Tom；　finish　your　dinner…people　in　China　and　India　are　starving。'　
My　advice　to　you　is：　Girls；　finishyour　homework…people　in　China　and　India　are　starving　
for　your　jobs。〃　
The　way　I　like　to　think　about　this　for　our　society　as　a　whole　is　that　every　person　
should　figure　out　how　to　make　himself　or　herself　into　an　untouchable。　That's　right。　
When　the　world　goes　flat；　the　caste　system　
2？8　
gets　turned　upside　down。　In　India　untouchables　may　be　the　lowest　social　class；　but　
in　a　flat　world　everyone　should　wantto　be　an　untouchable。　Untouchables；　in　my　lexicon；　


are　people　whose　jobs　cannot　be　outsourced。　
So　who　are　the　untouchables；　and　how　do　you　or　your　kids　get　to　be　one？　Untouchables　
come　in　four　broad　categories：　workers　who　are　〃special；〃　workers　who　are　
〃specialized；〃　workers　who　are　〃anchored；〃　and　workers　who　are　〃really　adaptable。〃　
Workers　who　are　special　are　people　like　Michael　Jordan；　Bill　Gates；　and　Barbra　
Streisand。　They　have　a　global　market　for　their　goods　and　services　and　can　command　
global…sized　pay　packages。　Their　jobs　can　never　be　outsourced。　
If　you　can't　be　special…and　only　a　few　people　can　be…you　want　to　be　specialized；　so　
that　your　work　cannot　be　outsourced。　This　applies　to　all　sorts　of　knowledge　
workers…from　specialized　lawyers；　accountants；　and　brain　surgeons；　to　cutting…edge　
computer　architects　and　software　engineers；　to　advanced　machine　tool　and　robot　
operators。　These　are　skills　that　are　always　in　high　demand　and　are　not　fungible。　
（〃Fungible〃　is　an　important　word　to　remember。　As　Infosys　CEO　Nandan　Nilekani　likes　
to　say；　in　a　flat　world　there　is　〃fungible　and　nonfungible　work。〃　Work　that　can　be　
easily　digitized　and　transferred　to　lower…wage　locations　is　fungible。　Work　that　
cannot　be　digitized　or　easily　substituted　is　nonfungible。　Michael　Jordan's　jump　shot　
is　nonfungible。　A　bypass　surgeon's　technique　is　nonfungible。　A　television　
assembly…line　worker's　job　is　now　fungible。　Basic　accounting　and　tax　preparation　are　
now　fungible。）　
If　you　cannot　be　special　or　specialized；　you　want　to　be　anchored。　That　status　applies　
to　most　Americans；　everyone　from　my　barber；　to　the　waitress　at　lunch；　to　the　chefs　
in　the　kitchen；　to　the　plumber；　to　nurses；　to　many　doctors；　many　lawyers；　entertainers；　
electricians；　and　cleaning　ladies。　Their　jobs　are　simply　anchored　and　always　will　
be；　because　they　must　be　done　in　a　specific　location；　involving　face…to…face　contact　
with　a　customer；　client；　patient；　or　audience。　These　jobs　generally　cannot　be　
digitized　and　are　not　fungible；　and　the　market　wage　is　set　according　to　the　local　
market　conditions。　But　be　advised：　There　are　fungible　parts　of　even　anchored　jobs；　
and　they　can　and　will　be　outsourced…either　to　

India　or　to　the　past…for　greater　efficiency。　（Yes；　as　David　Rothkopf　notes；　more　jobs　
are　actually　〃outsourced　to　the　past；〃　thanks　to　new　innovations；　than　are　outsourced　
to　India。）　For　instance；　you　are　not　going　to　go　to　Bangalore　to　find　an　internist　
or　a　divorce　lawyer；　but　your　divorce　lawyer　may　one　day　use　a　legal　aide　in　Bangalore　
for　basic　research　or　to　write　up　vanilla　legal　documents；　and　your　internist　may　
use　a　nighthawk　radiologist　in　Bangalore　to　read　your　CAT　scan。　
This　is　why　if　you　cannot　be　special　or　specialized；　you　don't　want　to　count　on　being　
anchored　so　you　won't　be　outsourced。　You　actually　want　to　become　really　adaptable。　
You　want　constantly　to　acquire　new　skills；　knowledge；　and　e