the.world.is.flat-第54节

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told　the　AP。　〃It's　the　last　thing　I　have　of　my　son。〃　We　are　moving　into　a　world　where　
more　and　more　communication　is　in　the　form　of　bits　traveling　through　cyberspace　and　
stored　onservers　located　all　over　the　world。　No　government　controls　this　cyber…realm。　
So　the　question　is：　Who　owns　your　bits　when　you　die？　The　AP　reported　that　Yahoo！　denied　
the　Ellsworth　family　their　son's　password；　citing　the　fact　that　Yahoo！　policy　calls　
for　erasing　all　accounts　that　are　inactive　for　ninety　days　and　the　fact　that　all　Yahoo！　
users　agree　at　sign…up　that　rights　to　a　member's　ID　or　account　contents　terminate　
upon　death。　〃While　we　sympathize　with　any　grieving　family；　Yahoo！　accounts　and　any　
contents　therein　are　nontransferable〃　even　after　death；　Karen　Mahon；　a　Yahoo！　
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spokeswoman　told　the　AP。　As　we　get　rid　of　more　and　more　paper　and　communicate　through　
more　and　more　digitized　formats；　you　better　sort　out　before　you　die；　and　include　in　
your　will；　to　whom；　if　anyone；　you　want　to　leave　your　bits。　This　is　very　real。　I　stored　


many　chapters　of　this　book　in　my　AOL　account；　feeling　it　would　be　safest　in　cyberspace。　
If　something　had　happened　to　me　during　my　writing；　my　family　and　publisher　would　have　
had　to　sue　AOL　to　try　to　get　this　text。　Somebody；　please；　sort　all　this　out。　
Death　of　the　Salesmen　
In　the　fall　of　2004；　I　went　out　to　Minneapolis　to　visit　my　mother　and　had　three　
world…is…flat　encounters　right　in　a　row。　First；　before　I　left　home　in　Washington；　
I　dialed　411　…directory　assistance…to　try　to　get　a　friend's　phone　number　in　
Minneapolis。　A　computer　answered　and　a　computerized　voice　asked　me　to　pronounce　the　
name　of　the　person　whose　number　I　was　requesting。　For　whatever　reason；　I　could　not　
get　the　computer　to　hear　me　correctly；　and　it　kept　saying　back　to　me　in　a　computerized　
voice；　〃Did　you　say　。。。　？〃　I　kept　having　to　say　the　family　name　in　a　voice　that　masked　
my　exasperation　（otherwise　the　computer　never　would　have　understood　me）。　〃No；　I　didn't　
say　that。。。　I　said。。。〃　Eventually；　I　was　connected　to　an　operator；　but　I　did　not　enjoy　
this　friction…free　encounter　with　directory　information。　I　craved　the　friction　of　
another　human　being。　It　may　be　cheaper　and　more　efficient　to　have　a　computer　dispense　
phone　numbers；　but　for　me　it　brought　only　frustration。　
When　I　arrived　in　Minneapolis；　I　had　dinner　with　family　friends；　one　of　whom　has　spent　
his　life　working　as　a　wholesaler　in　the　Midwest；　selling　goods　to　the　biggest　retailers　
in　the　region。　He　is　a　natural　salesman。　When　I　asked　him　what　was　new；　he　sighed　
and　said　that　business　just　wasn't　what　it　used　to　be。　Everything　was　now　being　sold　
at　1　percent　margins；　he　explained。　No　problem。　He　was　selling　mostly　commodity　items　
so　that；　given　his　volumes；　he　could　handle　the　slim　profit　margin。　But　what　bothered　
him；　he　mentioned；　was　the　fact　that　he　no　longer　

had　human　contact　with　some　of　his　biggest　accounts。　Even　commodities　and　low…cost　
goods　have　certain　differentiating　elements　that　need　to　be　sold　and　highlighted。　
〃Everything　is　by　e…mail　now；〃　he　said。　〃I　am　dealing　with　a　young　kid　at　＇one　of　
the　biggest　retailers　in　the　nation＇；　and　he　says；　'Just　e…mail　me　your　bid。'　I've　
never　met　him。　Half　the　time　he　doesn't　get　back　to　me。　I　am　not　sure　how　to　deal　
with　him　。。。　In　the　old　days；　I　used　to　stop　by　the　office；　give　the　buyers　a　few　
Vikings　tickets。　We　were　friends。　。　。　Tommy；　all　anyone　cares　about　today　is　price。〃　
Fortunately；　my　friend　is　a　successful　businessman　and　has　a　range　of　enterprises。　
But　as　I　reflected　later　on　what　he　was　saying；　I　was　drawn　back　to　that　scene　in　
Death　of　a　Salesman　in　which　Willy　Loman　says　that；　unlike　his　colleague　Charley；　
he　intends　to　be　〃well　liked。〃　He　tells　his　sons　that　in　business　and　in　life；　character；　
personality；　and　human　connections　are　more　important　than　smarts。　Says　Willy；　〃The　
man　who　makes　an　appearance　in　the　business　world；　the　man　who　creates　personal　
interest；　is　the　man　who　gets　ahead。　Be　liked　and　you　will　never　want。〃　
Not　when　the　world　goes　flat。　It's　hard　to　create　a　human　bond　with　e…mail　and　streaming　
Internet。　The　next　day；　I　had　dinner　with　my　friend　Ken　Greer；　who　runs　a　media　company　
that　I　discuss　in　greater　detail　later。　Ken　had　a　similar　lament：　So　many　contracts　
were　going　these　days　to　the　advertising　firms　that　were　selling　just　numbers；　not　
creative　instinct。　Then　Ken　said　something　that　really　hit　home　with　me：　〃It　is　like　
they　have　cut　all　the　fat　out　of　the　business〃　and　turned　everything　into　a　numbers　


game。　〃But　fat　is　what　gives　meat　its　taste；〃　Ken　added。　〃The　leanest　cuts　of　meat　
don't　taste　very　good。　You　want　it　marbled　with　at　least　a　little　fat。〃　
The　flattening　process　relentlessly　trims　the　fat　out　of　business　and　life；　but；　as　
Ken　noted；　fat　is　what　gives　life　taste　and　texture。　Fat　is　also　what　keeps　us　warm。　
Yes；　the　consumer　in　us　wants　Wal…Mart　prices；　with　all　the　fat　gone。　But　the　employee　
in　us　wants　a　little　fat　left　on　the　bone；　the　way　Costco　does　it；　so　that　it　can　
offer　health　care　to　almost　all　its　employees；　rather　than　just　less　than　half　of　
them；　as　Wal…Mart　does。　But　the　shareholder　in　us　wants　Wal…Mart's　profit　margins；　
not　Costco's。　Yet　the　citizen　in　us　
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wants　Costco's　benefits；　rather　than　Wal…Mart's；　because　the　difference　ultimately　
may　have　to　be　paid　for　by　society。　The　consumer　in　me　wants　lower　phone　bills；　but　
the　human　being　in　me　also　wants　to　speak　to　an　operator　when　I　call　411。　Yes；　the　
reader　in　me　loves　to　surf　the　Net　and　read　the　bloggers；　but　the　citizen　in　me　also　
wishes　that　some　of　those　bloggers　had　an　editor；　a　middleman；　to　tell　them　to　check　
some　of　their　facts　one　more　time　before　they　pressed　the　Send　button　and　told　the　
whole　world　that　something　was　wrong　or　unfair。　
Given　these　conflicting　emotions　and　pressures；　there　is　potential　here　for　American　
politics　to　get　completely　reshuffled…with　workers　and　corporate　interests　
realigning　themselves　into　different　parties。　Think　about　it：　Social　conservatives　
from　the　right　wing　of　the　Republican　party；　who　do　not　like　globalization　or　closer　
integration　with　the　world　because　it　brings　too　many　foreigners　and　foreign　cultural　
mores　into　America；　might　align　themselves　with　unions　from　the　left　wing　of　the　
Democratic　Party；　who　don't　like　globalization　for　the　way　it　facilitates　the　
outsourcing　and　offshoring　of　jobs。　They　might　be　called　the　Wall　Party　and　militate　
for　more　friction　and　fat　everywhere。　Let's　face　it：　Republican　cultural　
conservatives　have　much　more　in　common　with　the　steelworkers　of　Youngstown；　Ohio；　
the　farmers　of　rural　China；　and　the　mullahs　of　central　Saudi　Arabia；　who　would　also　
like　more　walls；　than　they　do　with　investment　bankers　onWall　Street　orservice　workers　
linked　to　the　global　economy　in　Palo　Alto；　who　have　been　enriched　by　the　flattening　
of　the　world。　
Meanwhile；　the　business　wing　of　the　Republican　Party；　which　believes　in　free　trade；　
deregulation；　more　integration；　and　lower　taxes…everything　that　would　flatten　the　
world　even　more…may　end　up　aligning　itself　with　the　social　liberals　of　the　Democratic　
Party；　many　of　whom　are　East　Coast　or　West　Coast　global　service　industry　workers。　
They　might　also　be　joined　by　Hollywood　and　other　entertainment　workers。　All　of　them　
are　huge　beneficiaries　of　the　flat　world。　They　might　be　called　the　Web　Party；　whose　
main　platform　would　be　to　promote　more　global　integration。　Many　residents　of　Manhattan　
and　Palo　Alto　have　more　interests　in　common　with　the　people　of　Shanghai　and　Bangalore　
than　they　do　
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with　the　residents　of　Youngstown　or　Topeka。　In　short；　in　a　flat　world；　we　are　likely　
to　see　many　social　liberals；　white…collar　global　service　industry　workers；　and　Wall　
Street　types　driven　together；　and　many　social　conservatives；　white…collar　local　


service　industry　workers；　and　labor　unions　driven　together。　
The　Passion　of　the　Christ　audience　will　be　in　the　same　trench　with　the　Teamsters　and　
the　AFL…CIO；　while　the　Hollywood　and　Wall　Street　liberals　and　the　You've　Got　Mail　
crowd　will　be　in　the　same　trench　with　the　high…tech　workers　of　Silicon　Valley　and　
the　global　service　providers　of　Manhattan　and　San　Francisco。　It　will　be　Mel　Gibson　
and　Jimmy　Hoffa　Jr。　versus　Bill　Gates　and　Meg　Ryan。　
More　and　more；　politics　in　the　flat　world　will　consist　of　asking　which　values；　
frictions；　and　fats　are　worth　preserving…which　should；　in　Marx's　language；　be　kept　
solid…and　which　must　be　left　to　melt　away　into　the　air。　Countries；　companies；　and　
individuals　will　be　able　to　give　intelligent　answers　to　these　questions　only　if　they　
understand　the　real　nature　and　texture　of　the　global　playing　field　and　how　different　
it　isfrom　the　one　that　existed　in　the　Cold　War　era　and　before。　And　countries；　companies；　
and　individuals　will　be　able　to　make　sound　political　choices　only　if　they　fully　
appreciate　the　flattened　playing　field　and　understand　all　the　new　tools　now　available　
to　them　for　collaborating　and　competing　on　it。　I　hope　this　book　will　provide　a　nuanced　
framework　for　this　hugely　important　political　debate　and　the　great　sorting　out　that　
is　just　aroun