the.world.is.flat-第94节

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brought　its　foreign　reserves　to　near　zero…New　Delhi　had　reserves　in　2004　of　100　
billion；　giving　it　the　resources　to　help　more　of　its　people　into　the　flat　arena。　
Ramesh　Ramanathan；　an　Indian…born　former　Citibank　executive　who　returned　to　India　
to　lead　an　NGO　called　Janaagraha；　dedicated　to　improving　local　governance；　is　
precisely　the　kind　of　new　populist　I　have　in　mind。　〃In　India；〃　he　said；　〃clients　of　
public　education　are　sending　a　signal　about　the　quality　of　service　delivery：　Whoever　
can　afford　to　opt　out　does　so。　The　same　goes　for　health　care。　Given　the　escalating　


costs　of　health　care；　if　we　had　a　solid　public　health…care　system；　most　citizens　would　
opt　to　use　it；　not　just　the　poor。　Ditto　for　roads；　highways；　water　supply；　sanitation；　
registration　of　births　and　deaths；　crematoria；　driver's　li389　
censes；　and　so　on。　Wherever　the　government　provides　these　services；　it　＇should　be＇　
for　the　benefit　of　all　citizens。　＇But＇　in　fact；　in　some　of　these；　like　water　supply　
and　sanitation；　the　poor　are　actually　not　even　getting　the　same　basic　services　as　
the　middle　class　and　the　rich。　The　challenge　here　is　therefore　universal　access。〃　
Getting　NGOs　that　can　collaborate　on　the　local　level　to　ensure　that　the　poor　get　the　
infrastructure　and　budgets　to　which　they　are　entitled　could　have　a　major　impact　on　
poverty　alleviation。　
So　although　this　may　sound　odd　coming　from　me；　it　is　totally　consistent　with　this　
whole　book：　What　the　world　doesn't　need　now　is　for　the　antiglobalization　movement　
to　go　away。　We　just　need　it　to　grow　up。　This　movement　had　a　lot　of　energy　and　a　lot　
of　mobilizing　capacity。　What　it　lacked　was　a　coherent　agenda　for　assisting　the　poor　
by　collaborating　with　them　in　a　way　that　could　actually　help　them。　The　activist　groups　
that　are　helping　alleviate　poverty　the　most　are　those　working　at　the　local　village　
level　in　places　like　rural　India；　Africa；　and　China　to　spotlight　and　fight　corruption　
and　to　promote　accountability；　transparency；　education；　and　property　rights。　You　
don't　help　the　world's　poor　by　dressing　up　in　a　turtle　outfit　and　throwing　a　stone　
through　McDonald's　window。　You　help　them　by　getting　them　the　tools　and　institutions　
to　help　themselves。　It　may　not　be　as　sexy　as　protesting　against　world　leaders　in　the　
streets　of　Washington　and　Genoa；　and　getting　lots　of　attention　on　CNN；　but　it　is　a　
lot　more　important。　Just　ask　any　Indian　villager。　
Collaboration　in　poverty　alleviation　is　not　just　for　NGOs。　It　is　also　for　
multinational　corporations。　The　rural　poor　in　India；　Africa；　and　China　represent　a　
huge　market；　and　it　is　possible　to　make　money　there　and　serve　them　…if　companies　are　
ready　to　collaborate　horizontally　with　the　poor。　One　of　the　most　interesting　examples　
I　have　come　across　of　this　form　of　collaboration　is　a　program　run　by　Hewlett…Packard。　
HP　is　not　an　NGO。　HP　began　with　a　simple　question：　What　do　poor　people　need　most　that　
we　could　sell　to　them？　You　cannot　design　this　stuff　in　Palo　Alto；　you　have　to　cocreate　
with　the　user…customer　beneficiary。　In　order　to　answer　that　question；　HP　created　a　
public…private　partnership　with　the　national　government　in　India　and　the　local　
government　in　Andhra　Pradesh。　Then　a　group　of　HP　technologists　convened　a　series　of　
dialogues　in　the　
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farming　village　of　Kuppam。　It　asked　residents　two　things：　What　are　your　hopes　for　
the　next　three　to　five　years？　and　What　changes　would　really　make　your　lives　better？　
To　help　the　villagers　（many　of　them　illiterate）　express　themselves；　HP　used　a　concept　
called　graphic　facilitation；　wherebywhen　people　voiced　their　dreams　and　aspirations；　
a　visual　artist　whom　HP　brought　over　from　the　United　States　drew　images　of　those　
aspirations　on　craft　paper　put　up　on　the　walls　around　the　room。　
〃When　people；　particularly　people　who　are　illiterate；　say　something　and　it　gets　
immediately　represented　on　the　wall；　they　feel　really　validated；　and　therefore　they　


get　more　animated　and　more　engaged；〃　said　Maureen　Conway；　HP's　vice　president　for　
emerging　market　solutions；　who　headed　the　project。　〃It　raises　self…esteem。〃　Once　
these　poor　farmers　living　in　a　remote　village　got　loose；　they　really　started　aspiring。　
〃One　of　them　said；　'What　we　really　need　here　is　an　airport；'〃　said　Conway。　
After　the　visioning　sessions　were　complete；　HP　employees　spent　more　time　in　the　
village　just　observing　how　people　lived。　One　technological　thing　missing　in　their　
lives　was　photography。　Conway　explained：　〃We　noticed　that　there　was　a　big　demand　for　
having　pictures　taken　for　identification　purposes；　for　licenses；　for　applications　
and　government　permits；　and　we　said　to　ourselves；　'Maybe　there　is　an　entrepreneurial　
opportunity　here　if　we　can　turn　people　into　village　photographers。'　There　was　one　
photo　studio　in　downtown　Kuppam。　Everyone　around　＇is＇　farmers。　We　noticed　that　people　
would　come　back　in　from　villages　on　a　bus；　spend　two　hours；　get　their　pictures　taken；　
come　back　a　week　later　for　the　pictures；　and　find　out　that　they　were　not　done　or　done　
wrong。　Time　is　as　important　for　them　as　for　us。　So　we　said；　'Wait　a　minute；　we　make　
digital　cameras　and　portable　printers。　So　what　is　the　problem？'　Why　doesn't　HP　sell　
them　a　bunch　of　digital　cameras　and　printers？　The　villagers　came　back　with　a　very　
short　answer：　'Electricity。'　They　had　no　assured　supply　of　electricity　and　little　
money　to　pay　for　it。　
〃So　we　said；　'We　are　technologists。　Let's　get　a　solar　panel　and　put　it　on　a　backpack　
on　wheels　and　see　if　there　is　a　business　for　people　here；　and　for　HP；　if　we　make　a　
mobile　photo　studio。'　That　is　the　approach　we　took。　The　solar　panel　can　charge　both　
the　camera　and　the　printer。　Then　we　went　to　a　self…help　women's　group。　We　picked　five　
women　and　said；　

'We　will　train　you　how　to　use　this　equipment。'　We　gave　them　two　weeks　of　training。　
And　we　said；　'We　will　provide　you　with　the　camera　and　supplies；　and　we　will　share　
revenue　with　you　on　every　picture。'〃　This　was　not　charity。　Even　after　buying　all　their　
supplies　from　HP　and　sharing　some　of　the　revenue　with　HP；　the　women　in　the　photography　
group　doubled　their　family　incomes。　〃And　to　be　honest；　what　we　found　out　was　that　
less　than　50　percent　of　the　pictures　they　took　were　for　identification　pictures　and　
the　rest　were　people　just　wanting　pictures　of　their　kids；　weddings；　and　themselves；〃　
said　Conway。　The　poor　like　family　photo　albums　as　much　as　the　rich　and　are　ready　to　
pay　for　them。　The　local　government　also　made　this　women's　group　its　official　
photographers　for　public　works　projects；　which　added　to　their　income。　
End　of　story？　Not　quite。　As　I　said；　HP　is　not　an　NGO。　〃After　four　months　we　said；　
'Okay；　the　experiment　is　over；　we're　taking　the　camera　back；'〃　said　Conway。　〃And　they　
said；　'You're　crazy。'〃　So　HP　told　the　women　that　if　they　wanted　to　keep　the　camera；　
printer；　and　solar　panel；　they　had　to　come　up　with　a　plan　to　pay　for　them。　They　
eventually　proposed　renting　them　for　9　a　month；　and　HP　agreed。　And　now　they　are　
branching　out　into　other　villages。　HP；　meanwhile；　has　started　working　with　an　NGO　
to　train　multiple　women's　groups　with　the　same　mobile　photography　studio；　and　there　
is　a　potential　here　for　HP　to　sell　the　studios　to　NGOs　all　over　India；　with　all　of　
them　using　HP　ink　and　other　supplies。　And　from　India；　who　knows　where？　
〃They　are　giving　us　feedback　on　the　cameras　and　ease　of　use；〃　said　Conway。　〃What　it　


has　done　to　change　the　confidence　of　the　women　is　absolutely　amazing。〃　
Too　Frustrated　
One　of　the　unintended　consequences　of　the　flat　world　is　that　it　puts　different　
societies　and　cultures　in　much　greater　direct　contact　with　one　another。　It　connects　
people　to　people　much　faster　than　people　and　cultures　can　often　prepare　themselves。　
Some　cultures　thrive　on　the　sud…　
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den　opportunities　for　collaboration　that　this　global　intimacy　makes　possible。　Others　
are　threatened；　frustrated；　and　even　humiliated　by　this　close　contact；　which；　among　
other　things；　makes　it　very　easy　for　people　to　see　where　they　stand　in　the　world　
vis…a…vis　everyone　else。　All　of　this　helps　to　explain　the　emergence　of　one　of　the　
most　dangerous　unflattening　forces　today…the　suicide　bombers　of　al…Qaeda　and　the　
other　Islamist　terror　organizations；　who　are　coming　out　of　the　Muslim　world　and　Muslim　
communities　in　Europe。　
The　Arab…Muslim　world　is　a　vast；　diverse　civilization；　encompassing　over　one　billion　
people　and　stretching　from　Morocco　to　Indonesia　and　from　Nigeria　all　the　way　to　the　
suburbs　of　London。　It　is　very　dangerous　to　generalize　about　such　a　complex　religious　
community；　made　up　of　so　many　different　ethnicities　and　nationalities。　But　one　need　
only　look　at　the　headlines　in　any　day's　newspaper　to　appreciate　that　a　lot　of　anger　
and　frustration　seems　to　be　bubbling　over　from　the　Muslim　world　in　general　and　from　
the　Arab…Muslim　world　in　particular；　where　many　young　people　seem　to　be　agitated　by　
a　combination　of　issues。　One　of　the　most　obvious　is　the　festering　Arab…Israeli　
conflict；　and　the　Israeli　occupation　of　Palestinian　land　and　East　Jerusalem…a　
grievance　which　has　a　powerful　emotional　hold　on　the　Arab…Muslim　imagination　and　has　
long　soured　relations　with　Ameri