Europe votes for the past as China & India surge ahead
Tom Friedman, the Pulitzer prize-winning columnist and author most
famous for his commentary on the Mid-East, had an epiphany during
his recent visit to Bangalore, India. This brought the recognition
that "the world was flat" - discussed in his book by that name
(see weblink below). He continues to write on that topic; some
of his recent comments are summarized here.
French voters (and now the Dutch) recently rejected the European Union
constitution, showing their blindness to all the forces of globalization
which are chipping away at Europe's welfare states. Clearly this is
a bad time for Europeans to lose their appetite for hard work, just
when India, China and much of the third world are rediscovering theirs.
In a world where others are willing to work 18-hour days, French voters
are trying to preserve their 35-hour work week. In the "old Europe" -
France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy - the benefits they have known
for 50 years are falling apart. The Europeans seem to be saying: "Stop
the world, we want to get off!" At the same time, China, India and others
want to jump on, and are building their economies to compete.
India and China are racing the world to the top. They are taking work
from Europe or America not simply because of low wages, but also because
they are ready and willing to work harder. These people have an incredible
new hunger - not for food, but for opportunity. I've brought this up over
and over again, the statement that an old Japanese guru once told me:
"You can't simulate hunger."
India is the world's largest democracy and has the youngest population -
almost 70% below 35, 50% under 25. Compared to India, Western Europe looks
like an elderly, assisted-living community. A huge part of India still
lives in slums or villages, but more and more people are reaching for
something better. India is already largely English-speaking; now even
the poor seem to know that English is the key to tech-jobs, and they
want their kids to have those opportunities. And Unions have declared
the tech-sector an "essential business", off-limits for strikes.
Infosys and Wipro, the two Bangalore-based companies I've often written
about, received more than one million applications last year for some
10,000 job openings. In a world economy where most companies had little
or no growth, these two companies grew by about 50% last year; both now
have sales approaching $ 2 billion and profits of 20-30%. Infosys has
US Nasdaq market-cap of $18.6 billion; Wipro has a NYSE market-cap
of $14B. The best indication that Bangalore is becoming "hot" is how
many foreign techies - non-Indians - are now going there to work.
Meantime, China is turning out 700,000 engineers a year, 37% of all
college graduates and their University system growing in leaps and
bounds, generating new high-tech competitors in networking, computers,
semiconductors, biotech, space.
And wow, are they hungry! Recently, in just 3 weeks, the residents of
a large city block in Shanghai were relocated, all the buildings were
bulldozed, and a 1,000-bed isolation hospital was built using 10,000
conscripted workers who worked 15 hours a day, every day, with no Union
interference. On the last day of construction, a stream of ambulances
was already bringing in patients.
When China's prime minister visited India for the first time last April,
he didn't fly to the capital, New Delhi, as foreign leaders usually do.
Instead, he flew directly from Beijing to Bangalore, for a tech-tour,
and then he visited the capital. Meantime, it's interesting to note
that no US president or VP has ever visited Bangalore.....
Tom Friedman - Race to the top
Why China is poised to streak ahead of the West
Will China Become the Leading Nation of the 21st Century?
Read Tom Friedman's book: 'the World is Flat":
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