Spherical Ideas

It seems that no matter how much technology is created and how much civilization “advances”, we can’t help coming back to the same ideas. First the earth was flat. Then we advanced and discovered that the earth was spherical. And we have once again discovered that the world is flat. However, this present day notion of the flat world is not the same as it was in the early medieval times. The flattening of the world, as Thomas Friedman recounts in his book The World is Flat, really means that the world is growing more equal in the opportunities presented to people across the globe, not just America, due to the development of technologies and the breaking down of social and political barriers, such as the fall of the Berlin wall. Being an American, I have been taught of the American superiority since the day I was created, to the point where another lecture on American superiority will cause me to projectile vomit. However, the flattening of the World can be both a good thing and a bad thing for America. It most certainly will benefit many other countries in the world.                            

First let’s discuss a pressing issue on the minds of many Americans: outsourcing. Its everywhere. Thousands of businesses are now finding it to be more beneficial to send their work to countries like India and China, because it is much more cost effective. Americans believe that it is just to save money. But many companies find that foreign workers actually are more productive than American workers. Foreign workers want to do the jobs that Americans don’t think are meaningful enough. By sending jobs to these foreign countries like China and India, we have created high demand jobs, that require higher education. In order to become qualified for these high demand jobs, more people in places like China are becoming engineers and scientists, and fewer and fewer American children are. With such and educated population, it is no wonder that more and more technological developments are coming from these areas, and that less and less are coming from the United States. But not to worry for the United States, we are still way ahead of the rest of the world, right? We are American, our creativity is something we can always fall back on, right? Not necessarily. Now that the world has caught up to America in the technology race, it is only a matter of years before they surpass us completely, even in creativity.

This outsourcing is spreading jobs, and wealth to many developing nations, giving them a much need boost to their infant economies. The long term could effect could be a global economy that benefits many countries, not just a few large dominating economies. This flat earth levels the playing field and helps developing countries jump in to the global economy. This gives developing countries a boost, but could cause established nations to fall behind, if action is not taken. Inevitably, some countries will fall behind. A rising tide does not always float all boats. One or two will always sink; however, their time will come with the next tide when others will surely sink. The spreading out of all these jobs and universities has led to the moving of low wage jobs to other countries. This could be devastating; however, this can also give America the push it needs to make some changes that will better society by offering better education and worker benefits to the entire population. By putting pressure on

Americans to find more jobs, it will become essential for the American population to create more complex jobs that are dependent on elements that cannot be outsourced, such as jobs that rely on human creativity and interaction. In order to do this, America must reform its school system in order to teach American children how to compete in a global world. This increased competition for jobs will hopefully raise the bar in education and lead to increased productivity and ideas. Another hope of the flattening of the world, is that it will lead to the creation of wage insurance and health care for workers. This will come about because there is no more lifelong job, so those whose jobs are outsourced will be compensated so that they can adapt and obtain a new job.   

However, this is all very dangerous for America. These opportunities will only become beneficial if we realize what is taking place and take the proper steps towards adapting to the world. We cannot assume that what we are doing is working and that it will continue to work; we must take action to ensure our future success as a powerful nation. It is necessary to give America some necessary attention to make sure that it does not fall behind. But at the same time we do also need to be aware of the world as a whole. The flattening of the world has caused us to work together like no other time in history before, so it is essential that we care for the world as a whole. Because countries are so linked, it could be easier to create a global disaster if we do not look out for the best interests of the globe. At the same time, it is essential to bring America back up to speed so that in the future, we are still able to compete and work with these up and coming nations, like China and India. Ultimately, it is all about balance. How well can we balance our own interests and improvements, with that of the world. Hopefully, we will elect a leader who understands this and can create an atmosphere of positive change to help us achieve this much needed global balance in the flattening world.