按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
Japan； Australia。
〃Outsourcing is just one dimension of a much more fundamental thing happening today
in the world；〃 Nilekani explained。 〃What happened over the last ＇few＇ years is that
there was a massive investment in technology； especially in the bubble era； when
hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in putting broadband connectivity
around the world； undersea cables； all those things。〃 At the same time； he added；
computers became cheaper and dispersed all over the world； and there was an explosion
of software…e…mail； search engines like Google； and
proprietary software that can chop up any piece of work and send one part to Boston；
one part to Bangalore； and one part to Beijing； making it easy for anyone to do remote
development。 When all of these things suddenly came together around 2000； added
Nilekani； they 〃created a platform where intellectual work； intellectual capital；
could be delivered from anywhere。 It could be disaggregated； delivered； distributed；
produced； and put back together again…and this gave a whole new degree of freedom
to the way we do work； especially work of an intellectual nature 。 。 。 And what you
are seeing in Bangalore today is really the culmination of all these things coming
together。〃
We were sitting on the couch outside of Nilekani's office； waiting for the TV crew
to set up its cameras。 At one point； summing up the implications of all this； Nilekani
uttered a phrase that rang in my ear。 He said to me； 〃Tom； the playing field is being
leveled。〃 He meant that countries like India are now able to compete for global
knowledge work as never before…and that America had better get ready for this。 America
was going to be challenged； but； he insisted； the challenge would be good for America
because we are always at our best when we are being challenged。 As I left the Infosys
campus that evening and bounced along the road back to Bangalore； I kept chewing on
that phrase： 〃The playing field is being leveled。〃
What Nandan is saying； I thought； is that the playing field is being flattened 。。 。
Flattened？ Flattened？ My God； he's telling me the world is flat！
Here I was in Bangalore…more than five hundred years after Columbus sailed over the
horizon； using the rudimentary navigational technologies of his day； and returned
safely to prove definitively that the world was round…and one of India's smartest
engineers； trained at his country's top technical institute and backed by the most
modern technologies of his day； was essentially telling me that the world was flat…as
flat as that screen on which he can host a meeting of his whole global supply chain。
Even more interesting； he was citing this development as a good thing； as a new
milestone in human progress and a great opportunity for India and the world…the fact
that we had made our world flat！
In the back of that van； I scribbled down four words in my notebook： 〃The world is
flat。〃 As soon as I wrote them； I realized that this was the
underlying message of everything that I had seen and heard in Bangalore in two weeks
of filming。 The global competitive playing field was being leveled。 The world was
being flattened。
As I came to this realization； I was filled with both excitement and dread。 The
journalist in me was excited at having found a framework to better understand the
morning headlines and to explain what was happening in the world today。 Clearly； it
is now possible for more people than ever to collaborate and compete in real time
with more other people on more different kinds of work from more different corners
of the planet and on a more equal footing than at any previous time in the history
of the world…using computers； e…mail； networks； teleconferencing； and dynamic new
software。 That is what Nandan was telling me。 That was what I discovered on my journey
to India and beyond。 And that is what this book is about。 When you start to think
of the world as flat； a lot of things make sense in ways they did not before。 But
I was also excited personally； because what the flattening of the world means is that
we are now connecting all the knowledge centers on the planet together into a single
global network； which…if politics and terrorism do not get in the way…could usher
in an amazing era of prosperity and innovation。
But contemplating the flat world also left me filled with dread； professional and
personal。 My personal dread derived from the obvious fact that it's not only the
software writers and computer geeks who get empowered to collaborate on work in a
flat world。 It's also al…Qaeda and other terrorist networks。 The playing field is
not being leveled only in ways that draw in and superempower a whole new group of
innovators。 It's being leveled in a way that draws in and superempowers a whole new
group of angry； frustrated； and humiliated men and women。
Professionally； the recognition that the world was flat was unnerving because I
realized that this flattening had been taking place while I was sleeping； and I had
missed it。 I wasn't really sleeping； but I was otherwise engaged。 Before 9/11；1 was
focused on tracking globalization and exploring the tension between the 〃Lexus〃
forces of economic integration and the 〃Olive Tree〃 forces of identity and
nationalism…hence my 1999 book； The Lexus and the Olive Tree。 But after 9/11； the
olive tree wars became all9
consuming for me。 I spent almost all my time traveling in the Arab and Muslim worlds。
During those years I lost the trail of globalization。
I found that trail again on my journey to Bangalore in February 2004。 Once I did；
I realized that something really important had happened while I was fixated on the
olive groves of Kabul and Baghdad。 Globalization had gone to a whole new level。 If
you put The Lexus and the Olive Tree and this book together； the broad historical
argument you end up with is that that there have been three great eras of globalization。
The first lasted from 1492…when Columbus set sail； opening trade between the Old World
and the New World…until around 1800。1 would call this era Globalization 1。0。 It shrank
the world from a size large to a size medium。 Globalization 1。0 was about countries
and muscles。 That is； in Globalization 1。0 the key agent of change； the dynamic force
driving the process of global integration was how much brawn…how much muscle； how
much horsepower； wind power； or； later； steam power…your country had and how
creatively you could deploy it。 In this era； countries and governments （often inspired
by religion or imperialism or a combination of both） led the way in breaking down
walls and knitting the world together； driving global integration。 In Globalization
1。0； the primary questions were： Where does my country fit into global competition
and opportunities？ How can I go global and collaborate with others through my country？
The second great era； Globalization 2。0； lasted roughly from 1800to 2000； interrupted
by the Great Depression and World Wars I and II。 This era shrank the world from a
size medium to a size small。 In Globalization 2。0； the key agent of change； the dynamic
force driving global integration； was multinational companies。 These multinationals
went global for markets and labor； spearheaded first by the expansion of the Dutch
and English joint…stock companies and the Industrial Revolution。 In the first half
of this era； global integration was powered by falling transportation costs； thanks
to the steam engine and the railroad； and in the second half by falling
telecommunication costs…thanks to the diffusion of the telegraph； telephones； the
PC； satellites； fiber…optic cable； and the early version of the World Wide Web。 It
was during this era that we really saw the
10
birth and maturation of a global economy； in the sense that there was enough movement
of goods and information from continent to continent for there to be a global market；
with global arbitrage in products and labor。 The dynamic forces behind this era of
globalization were breakthroughs in hardware…from steamships and railroads in the
beginning to telephones and mainframe computers toward the end。 And the big questions
in this era were： Where does my company fit into the global economy？ How does it take
advantage of the opportunities？ How can I go global and collaborate with others
through my company？ The Lexus and the Olive Tree was primarily about the climax of
this era； an era when the walls started falling all around the world； and integration；
and the backlash to it； went to a whole new level。 But even as the walls fell； there
were still a lot of barriers to seamless global integration。 Remember； when Bill
Clinton was elected president in 1992； virtually no one outside of government and
the academy had e…mail； and when I was writing The Lexus and the Olive Tree in 1998；
the Internet and e…commerce were just taking off。
Well； they took off…along with a lot of other things that came together while I was
sleeping。 And that is why I argue in this book that around the year 2000 we entered
a whole new era： Globalization 3。0。 Globalization 3。