the.world.is.flat-第45节

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Barrett。　
Then　along　came　the　triple　convergence。　The　Berlin　Wall　came　down；　the　Berlin　mall　
opened　up；　and　suddenly　some　3　billion　people　who　had　been　behind　walls　walked　onto　
the　flattened　global　piazza。　
Here's　what　happened　in　round　numbers：　According　to　a　November　2004　study　by　Harvard　
University　economist　Richard　B。　Freeman；　in　1985　〃the　global　economic　world〃　
comprised　North　America；　Western　Europe；　Japan；　as　well　as　chunks　of　Latin　America；　
Africa；　and　the　countries　of　East　Asia。　The　total　population　of　this　global　economic　
world；　taking　part　in　international　trade　and　commerce；　said　Freeman；　was　about　2。5　
billion　people。　
By　2000；　as　a　result　of　the　collapse　of　communism　in　the　Soviet　Empire；　India's　turn　
from　autarky；　China's　shift　to　market　capitalism；　and　population　growth　all　over；　
the　global　economic　world　expanded　to　encompass　6　billion　people。　
As　a　result　of　this　widening；　another　roughly　1。5　billion　new　workers　entered　the　
global　economic　labor　force；　Freeman　said；　which　is　almost　exactly　double　the　number　
we　would　have　had　in　2000　had　China；　India；　and　the　Soviet　Empire　not　joined。　

True；　maybe　only　10　percent　of　this　new　1。5　billion…strong　workforce　entering　the　
global　economy　have　the　education　and　connectivity　to　collaborate　and　compete　at　a　
meaningful　level。　But　that　is　still　150　million　people；　roughly　the　size　of　the　entire　

U。S。　workforce。　Said　Barrett；　〃You　don't　bring　three　billion　people　into　the　world　
economy　overnight　without　huge　consequences；　especially　from　three　societies　＇like　
India；　China；　and　Russia＇　with　rich　educational　heritages。〃　
That　is　exactly　right。　And　a　lot　of　those　new　workers　are　not　just　walking　onto　the　
playing　field。　No；　this　is　no　slow…motion　triple　convergence。　They　are　jogging　and　
even　sprinting　there。　Because　once　the　world　has　been　flattened　and　the　new　forms　
of　collaboration　made　available　to　more　and　more　people；　the　winners　will　be　those　
who　learn　the　habits；　processes；　and　skills　most　quickly…and　there　is　simply　nothing　
that　guarantees　it　will　be　Americans　or　Western　Europeans　permanently　leading　the　
way。　And　be　advised；　these　new　players　are　stepping　onto　the　playing　field　legacy　
free；　meaning　that　many　of　them　were　so　far　behind　they　can　leap　right　into　the　new　
technologies　without　having　to　worry　about　all　the　sunken　costs　of　old　systems。　It　
means　that　they　can　move　very　fast　to　adopt　new；　state…of…the…art　technologies；　which　
is　why　there　are　already　more　cell　phones　in　use　in　China　today　than　there　are　people　
in　the　United　States。　Many　Chinese　just　skipped　over　the　landline　phase。　South　Koreans　
put　Americans　to　shame　in　terms　of　Internet　usage　and　broadband　penetration。　
We　tend　to　think　of　global　trade　and　economics　as　something　driven　by　the　IMF；　the　

G…8；　the　World　Bank；　the　WTO；　and　the　trade　treaties　forged　by　trade　ministers。　I　
don't　want　to　suggest　that　these　governmental　agencies　are　irrelevant。　They　are　not。　
But　they　are　going　to　become　less　important。　In　the　future　globalization　is　going　
to　be　increasingly　driven　by　the　individuals　who　understand　the　flat　world；　adapt　
themselves　quickly　to　its　processes　and　technologies；　and　start　to　march　
forward…without　any　treaties　or　advice　from　the　IMF。　They　will　be　every　color　of　the　
rainbow　and　from　every　corner　of　the　world。　
The　global　economy　from　here　forward　will　be　shaped　less　by　the　ponderous　
deliberations　of　finance　ministers　and　more　by　the　spontaneous　explosion　of　energy　
from　the　zippies。　Yes；　Americans　grew　up　with　
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the　hippes　in　the　1960s。　Thanks　to　the　high…tech　revolution；　many　of　us　became　yuppies　
in　the　1980s。　Well；　now　let　me　introduce　the　zippies。　
〃The　Zippies　Are　Here；〃　declared　the　Indian　weekly　magazine　Outlook。　Zippies　are　the　
huge　cohort　of　Indian　youth　who　are　the　first　to　come　of　age　since　India　shifted　away　
from　socialism　and　dived　headfirst　into　global　trade　and　the　information　revolution　
by　turning　itself　into　the　world's　service　center。　Outlook　called　India's　zippies　
〃Liberalization's　Children〃　and　defined　a　zippie　as　a　〃young　city　or　suburban　resident；　
between　15　and　25　years　of　age；　with　a　zip　in　the　stride。　Belongs　to　Generation　Z。　
Can　be　male　or　female；　studying　or　working。　Oozes　attitude；　ambition　and　aspiration。　
Cool；　confident　and　creative。　Seeks　challenges；　loves　risks　and　shuns　fear。〃　Indian　
zippies　feel　no　guilt　about　making　money　or　spending　it。　They　are；　says　one　Indian　
analyst　quoted　by　Outlook；　〃destination　driven；　not　destiny　driven；　outward　looking；　
not　inward；　upwardly　mobile；　not　stuck…in…my…station…in…life。〃　With　54　percent　of　
India　under　the　age　of　twenty…five…that's　555　million　people…six　out　of　ten　Indian　
households　have　at　least　one　potential　zippie。　And　the　zippies　don't　just　have　a　
pent…up　demand　for　good　jobs；　they　want　the　good　life。　
It　all　happened　so　fast。　P。　V。　Kannan；　the　CEO　and　cofounder　of　the　Indian　call…center　
company　24/7　Customer；　told　me　that　in　the　last　decade；　he　went　from　sweating　out　
whether　he　would　ever　get　a　chance　to　work　in　America　to　becoming　one　of　the　leading　
figures　in　the　outsourcing　of　services　from　America　to　the　rest　of　the　world。　
〃I　will　never　forget　when　I　applied　for　a　visa　to　come　to　the　United　States；〃　Kannan　
recalled。　〃It　was　March　1991。1　had　gotten　a　B。A。　in　chartered　accountancy　from　the　
＇Indian＇　Institute　of　Chartered　Accountants。　I　was　twenty…three；　and　my　girlfriend　
was　twenty…five。　She　was　also　a　chartered　accountant。　I　had　graduated　at　age　twenty　
and　had　been　working　for　the　Tata　Consultancy　group。　So　was　my　girlfriend。　And　we　
both　got　job　offers　through　a　body　shop　＇a　recruiting　firm　specializing　in　importing　
Indian　talent　for　companies　in　America＇　to　work　as　programmers　for　IBM。　So　we　went　
to　the　U。S。　consulate　in　Bombay。　The　recruiting　service　was　based　in　Bombay。　In　those　
days；　there　was　always　a　very　long　line　to　get　visas　to　the　United　States；　and　there　
were　people　who　would　
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actually　sleep　in　the　line　and　hold　places　and　you　could　go　buy　their　place　for　20　
rupees。　But　we　went　by　ourselves　and　stood　in　line　and　we　finally　got　in　to　see　the　


man　who　did　the　interview。　He　was　an　American　＇consular　official＇。　His　job　was　to　
ask　questions　and　try　to　figure　out　whether　we　were　going　to　do　the　work　and　then　
come　back　to　India　or　try　to　stay　in　America。　They　judge　by　some　secret　formula。　We　
used　to　call　it　'the　lottery'…you　went　and　stood　in　line　and　it　was　a　life　lottery；　
because　everything　was　dependent　on　it。〃　
There　were　actually　books　and　seminars　in　India　devoted　entirely　to　the　subject　of　
how　to　prepare　for　a　work　visa　interview　at　the　U。S。　embassy。　It　was　the　only　way　
for　skilled　Indian　engineers　really　to　exploit　their　talent。　〃I　remember　one　tip　was　
to　always　go　professionally　dressed；〃　said　Kannan；　〃so　＇my　girlfriend　and　I＇　were　
both　in　our　best　clothes。　After　the　interview　is　over；　the　man　doesn't　tell　you　
anything。　You　had　to　wait　until　the　evening　to　know　the　results。　But　meanwhile；　the　
whole　day　was　hell。　To　distract　our　minds；　we　just　walked　the　streets　of　Bombay　and　
went　shopping。　We　would　go　back　and　forth；　'What　if　I　get　in　and　you　don't？　What　if　
you　get　in　and　I　don't？'　I　can't　tell　you　how　anxious　we　were；　because　so　much　was　
riding　on　it。　It　was　torture。　So　in　the　evening　we　go　back　and　both　of　us　got　visas；　
but　I　got　a　five…year　multiple　entry　and　my　girlfriend　got　a　six…month　visa。　She　was　
crying。　She　did　not　understand　what　it　meant。　'I　can　only　stay　for　six　months？'　I　
tried　to　explain　to　her　that　you　just　need　to　get　in　and　then　everything　can　be　worked　
out。〃　
While　many　Indians　still　want　to　come　to　America　to　work　and　study；　thanks　to　the　
triple　convergence　many　of　them　can　now　compete　at　the　highest　levels；　and　be　decently　
paid；　by　staying　at　home。　In　a　flat　world；　you　can　innovate　without　having　to　emigrate。　
Said　Kannan；　〃My　daughter　will　never　have　to　sweat　that　out。〃　In　a　flat　world；　he　
explained；　〃there　is　no　one　visa　officer　who　can　keep　you　out　of　the　system　。　。　。　
It's　a　plug…and…play　world。〃　
One　of　the　most　dynamic　pluggers　and　players　I　met　in　India　was　Rajesh　Rao；　founder　
and　CEO　of　Dhruva　Interactive；　a　small　Indian　game　company　based　in　Bangalore。　If　
I　could　offer　you　one　person　who　embodies　the　triple　convergence；　it　is　Rajesh。　He　
and　his　firm　show　us　what　happens　when　an　Indian　zippie　plugs　into　the　ten　flatteners。　

Dhruva　is　located　in　a　converted　house　on　a　quiet　street　in　a　residential　neighborhood　
of　Bangalore。　When　I　stopped　in　for　avisit；　I　found　two　floors　of　Indian　game　designers　
and　artists；　trained　in　computer　graphics；　working　on　PCs；　drawing　various　games　and　
animated　characters　for　American　and　European　clients。　The　artists　and　designers　were　
listening　to　music　on　headphones　as　they　worked。　Occasionally；　they　took　a　break　by　
playing　a　group　computer　game；　in　which　all　the　designers　could　try　to　chase　and　kill　
one　another　at　once　on　their　computer　screens。　Dhruva　has　already　produced　some　very　
innovative　games…　from　a　computer　tennis　game　you　can　play　on　the　screen　of　your　cell　
phone　to　a　computer　pool　game　you　can　play　on　your　PC　or　laptop