the.world.is.flat-第65章

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easily　absorbs　foreign　ideas　and　best　practices　and　melds　those　with　its　own　
traditions…the　greater　advantage　you　will　have　in　a　flat　world。　The　natural　ability　


to　glocalize　has　been　one　of　the　strengths　of　Indian　culture；　American　culture；　
Japanese　culture；　and；　lately；　Chinese　culture。　The　Indians；　for　instance；　take　the　
view　that　the　Moguls　come；　the　Moguls　go；　the　British　come；　the　British　go；　we　take　
the　best　and　leave　the　rest…but　we　still　eat　curry；　our　women　still　wear　saris；　and　
we　still　live　in　tightly　bound　extended　family　units。　That's　glo…calizing　at　its　best。　
〃Cultures　that　are　open　and　willing　to　change　have　a　huge　advantage　in　this　world；〃　
said　Jerry　Rao；　the　MphasiS　CEO　who　heads　the　Indian　high…tech　trade　association。　
〃My　great…grandmother　was　illiterate。　My　grandmother　went　to　grade　two。　My　mother　
did　not　go　to　college。　My　sister　has　a　master's　degree　in　economics；　and　my　daughter　
is　at　the　University　of　Chicago。　We　have　done　all　this　in　living　memory；　but　we　have　
been　willing　to　change　。　。　。　You　have　to　have　a　strong　culture；　but　also　the　openness　
to　adapt　and　adopt　from　others。　The　cultural　exclu…sivists　have　a　real　disadvantage。　
Think　about　it；　think　about　the　time　when　the　emperor　in　China　threw　out　the　British　
ambassador。　Who　did　it　hurt？　It　hurt　the　Chinese。　Exclusivity　is　a　dangerous　thing。〃　
Openness　is　critical；　added　Rao；　〃because　you　start　tending　to　respect　people　for　
their　talent　and　abilities。　When　you　are　chatting　with　another　developer　in　another　
part　of　the　world；　you　don't　know　what　his　or　her　color　is。　You　are　dealing　with　people　
on　the　basis　of　talent…not　race　or　ethnicity…and　that　changes；　subtly；　over　time　your　
whole　view　of　human　beings；　if　you　are　in　this　talent…based　and　performance…based　
world　rather　than　the　background…based　world。〃　
This　helps　explain　why　so　many　Muslim　countries　have　been　struggling　as　the　world　
goes　flat。　For　complicated　cultural　and　historical　reasons；　many　of　them　do　not　
glocalize　well；　although　there　are　plenty　of　

exceptions…namely；　Turkey；　Lebanon；　Bahrain；　Dubai；　Indonesia；　and　Malaysia。　All　of　
these　latter　countries；　though；　tend　to　be　the　more　secular　Muslim　nations。　In　a　world　
where　the　single　greatest　advantage　a　culture　can　have　is　the　ability　to　foster　
adaptability　and　adoptability；　the　Muslim　world　today　is　dominated　by　a　religious　
clergy　that　literally　bans　ijtihad；　reinterpretation　of　the　principles　of　Islam　in　
light　of　current　circumstances。　
Think　about　the　whole　mind…set　of　bin　Ladenism。　It　is　to　〃purge〃　Saudi　Arabia　of　all　
foreigners　and　foreign　influences。　That　is　exactly　the　opposite　of　glocalizing　and　
collaborating。　Tribal　culture　and　thinking　still　dominate　in　many　Arab　countries；　
and　the　tribal　mind…set　is　also　anathema　to　collaboration。　What　is　the　motto　of　the　
tribalist？　〃Me　and　my　brother　against　my　cousin；　me；　my　brother；　and　my　cousin　against　
the　outsider。〃　And　what　is　the　motto　of　the　globalists；　those　who　build　collaborative　
supply　chains？　〃Me　and　my　brother　and　my　cousin；　three　friends　from　childhood；　four　
people　in　Australia；　two　in　Beijing；　six　in　Bangalore；　three　from　Germany；　and　four　
people　we've　met　only　over　the　Internet　all　make　up　a　single　global　supply　chain。〃　
In　the　flat　world；　the　division　of　labor　is　steadily　becoming　more　and　more　complex；　
with　a　lot　more　people　interacting　with　a　lot　of　other　people　they　don't　know　and　
may　never　meet。　If　you　want　to　have　a　modern　complex　division　of　labor；　you　have　to　
be　able　to　put　more　trust　in　strangers。　
In　the　Arab…Muslim　world；　argues　David　Landes；　certain　cultural　attitudes　have　in　


many　ways　become　a　barrier　to　development；　particularly　the　tendency　to　still　treat　
women　as　a　source　of　danger　or　pollution　to　be　cut　off　from　the　public　space　and　denied　
entry　into　economic　activities。　When　a　culture　believes　that；　it　loses　a　large　portion　
of　potential　productivity　of　the　society。　A　system　that　privileges　the　men　from　birth　
on；　Landes　also　argues；　simply　because　they　are　male；　and　gives　them　power　over　their　
sisters　and　other　female　members　of　society；　is　bad　for　the　men。　It　builds　in　them　
a　sense　of　entitlement　that　discourages　what　it　takes　to　improve；　to　advance；　and　
to　achieve。　This　sort　of　discrimination；　he　notes；　is　not　something　limited　to　the　
Arab　Middle　East；　of　course。　Indeed；　strains　of　it　are　found　in　different　degrees　
all　around　the　world；　even　in　so…called　advanced　industrial　societies。　
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The　Arab…Muslim　world's　resistance　to　glocalization　is　something　that　some　liberal　
Arab　commentators　are　now　focusing　on。　Consider　a　May　5；　2004；　article　in　the　Saudi　
English…language　daily　Arab　News　by　liberal　Saudi　journalist　Raid　Qusti；　titled　〃How　
Long　Before　the　First　Step？〃　
〃Terrorist　incidents　in　Saudi　Arabia　are　more　or　less　becoming　everyday　news。　Every　
time　I　hope　and　pray　that　it　ends；　it　only　seems　to　get　worse；〃　Qusti　wrote。　〃One　
explanation　to　why　all　of　this　is　happening　was　brought　up　by　the　editor　in　chief　
of　Al…Riyadh　newspaper；　Turki　Al…Sudairi；　on　a　program　about　determining　the　roots　
of　the　terrorist　acts。　He　said　that　the　people　carrying　out　these　attacks　shared　the　
ideology　of　the　Juhaiman　movement　that　seized　the　Grand　Mosque　in　the　seventies。　They　
had　an　ideology　of　accusing　others　of　being　infidels　and　giving　themselves　a　free　
hand　to　kill　them；　be　it　Westerners…who；　according　to　them；　ought　to　be　kicked　out　
of　the　Arabian　Peninsula…or　the　Muslim　believer　who　does　not　follow　their　path。　They　
disappeared　in　the　eighties　and　nineties　from　the　public　eye　and　have　again　emerged　
with　their　destructive　ideology。　The　question　Al…Sudairi　forgot　to　bring　up　was：　What　
are　we　Saudis　going　to　do　about　it？　If　we　as　a　nation　decline　to　look　at　the　root　
causes；　as　we　have　for　the　past　two　decades；　it　will　only　be　a　matter　of　time　before　
another　group　of　people　with　the　same　ideology　spring　up。　Have　we　helped　create　these　
monsters？　Our　education　system；　which　does　not　stress　tolerance　of　other　faiths…let　
alone　tolerance　of　followers　of　other　Islamic　schools　of　thought…is　one　thing　that　
needs　to　be　re…evaluated　from　top　to　bottom。　Saudi　culture　itself　and　the　fact　that　
the　majority　of　us　do　not　accept　other　lifestyles　and　impose　our　own　on　other　people　
is　another。　And　the　fact　that　from　fourth　to　12th　grade　we　do　not　teach　our　children　
that　there　are　other　civilizations　in　the　world　and　that　we　are　part　of　the　global　
community　and　only　stress　the　Islamic　empires　over　and　over　is　also　worth　
re…evaluating。〃　
It　is　simply　too　easily　forgotten　that　when　it　comes　to　economic　activities；　one　of　
the　greatest　virtues　a　country　or　community　can　have　is　a　culture　of　tolerance。　When　
tolerance　is　the　norm；　everyone　flourishes…　because　tolerance　breeds　trust；　and　trust　
is　the　foundation　of　innovation　and　entrepreneurship。　Increase　the　level　of　trust　
in　any　group；　company；　or　society；　and　only　good　things　happen。　〃China　began　its　
astounding　
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commercial　and　industrial　takeoff　only　when　Mao　Zedong's　odiously　intolerant　form　
of　communism　was　scrapped　in　favor　of　what　might　be　called　totalitarian　
laissez…faire；〃　wrote　British　historian　Paul　Johnson　in　a　June　21；　2004；　essay　in　
Forbes。　〃India　is　another　example。　It　is　the　nature　of　the　Hindu　religion　to　be　
tolerant　and；　in　its　own　curious　way；　permissive　。　。　。　When　left　to　themselves；　Indians　
（like　the　Chinese）　always　prosper　as　a　community。　Take　the　case　of　Uganda's　Indian　
population；　which　was　expelled　by　the　horrific　dictator　Idi　Amin　and　received　into　
the　tolerant　society　of　Britain。　There　are　now　more　millionaires　in　this　group　than　
in　any　other　recent　immigrant　community　in　Britain。　They　are　a　striking　example　of　
how　far　hard　work；　strong　family　bonds　and　devotion　to　education　can　carry　a　people　
who　have　been　stripped　of　all　their　worldly　assets。〃　Islam；　down　through　the　years；　
has　thrived　when　it　fostered　a　culture　of　tolerance；　as　in　Moorish　Spain。　But　in　its　
modern　form；　in　too　many　cases　Islam　has　been　captured　and　interpreted　by　spiritual　
leaders　who　do　not　embrace　a　culture　of　tolerance；　change；　or　innovation；　and　that；　
Johnson　noted；　surelyhas　contributed　to　lagging　economic　growth　in　many　Muslim　lands。　
Here　we　come　again　to　the　coefficient　of　flatness。　Countries　without　natural　resources　
are　much　more　likely；　through　human　evolution；　to　develop　the　habits　of　openness　to　
new　ideas；　because　it　is　the　only　way　they　can　survive　and　advance。　
The　good　news；　though；　is　that　not　only　does　culture　matter；　but　culture　can　change。　
Cultures　are　not　wired　into　our　human　DNA。　They　are　a　product　of　the　context…geography；　
education　level；　leadership；　and　historical　experience…of　any　society。　As　those　
change；　so　too　can　culture。　Japan　and　Germany　went　from　highly　militarized　societies　
to　highlypacifist　and　staunchly　democratic　societies　in　the　last　fifty　years。　Bahrain　
was　one　of　the　first　Arab　countries　to　discover　oil。　It　was　the　first　Arab　country　
to　run　out　of　oil。　And　it　was　the　first　Arab　country　in　the　Arab　Gulf　to　hold　an　election　
for　parliament　where　women　could　run　and　vote。　China　during　the　Cultural　Revolution　
seemed　like　a　nation　in　the　grip　of　a　culture　of　ideological　madness。　China　today　
is　a　synonym　for　pragmatism。　Muslim　Spain　was　one　of　the　most　tolerant　societies　in　
the　history　of　the　world。　Muslim　Saudi　Arabia　today　is　one　of　the　most　in

tolerant。　Muslim　Spain　was　a　trading　and　merchant　culture　where　people　had　to　live　
by　their　wits　and　therefore　learned　to　live　well　with　others；　Saudi　Arabia　today　can　
get　by　just　selling　oil。　Yet　right　next　to　Saudi　Arabia　sits　Dubai；　an　Arab　city…state　
that　has　used　its　petrodollars　to　build　the　trading；　tourist；　service；　and　computing　
center　of　the　Arab　Gulf。　Dubai　is　one　of　the　most　tolerant；　cosmopolitan　places　in　
the　world；　with；　it　often　seems；　more　sushi　bars　and　golf　courses　than　mosques…and　
tourists　don't　even　need　a　visa。　So　yes；　culture　matters；　but　culture　is　nested　in　
contexts；　not　genes；　and　as　those　contexts；　and　local　leaders；　change　and　adapt；　so　
too　can　culture。　
The　Intangible　Things　
You　can　tell　a　lot　by　just　comparing　skylines。　Like　many　Indian　Americans；　Dinakar　
Singh；　the　hedge　fund　manager；　regularly　goes　back　to　India　to　visit　family。　In　the　
winter　of　2004；　he　went　back　to　New　Delhi　for　a　visit。　When　I　saw　him　a　few　months　
later；　he　told　me　about　the　moment　when　he　realized　why　India's　economy；　as　a　whole；　


still　had　not　taken　off　as　much　as　it　should　have…outside　of　the　high…tech　sector。　
〃I　was　on　the　sixth　floor　of　a　hotel　in　New　Delhi；〃　he　recalled；　〃and　when　I　looked　
out　the　window　I　could　see　for　miles。　How　come？　Because　you　do　not　have　assured　power　
in　Delhi　for　elevators；　so　there　are　not　many　tall　buildings。〃　No　sensible　investor　
would　want　to　build　a　tall　building　in　a　city　where　the　power　could　go　out　at　any　
moment　and　you　might　have　to　walk　up　twenty　flights　of　stairs。　The　result　is　more　
urban　sprawl　and　an　inefficient　use　of　space。　I　told　Singh　that　his　story　reminded　
me　of　a　trip　I　had　just　taken　to　Dalian；　China。　I　had　been　to　Dalian　in　1998；　and　
when　I　went　back　in　2004；1　did