the.world.is.flat-第1节

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Thomas　L　Friedman　


To　Matt　and　Kay　and　to　Ron　



Contents　

How　the　World　Became　Flat　

One：　While　I　Was　Sleeping　/　3　
Two：　The　Ten　Forces　That　Flattened　the　World　/　48　
Flattener#l。　11/9/89　
Flattener　#2。　8/9/95　
Flattener　#3。　Work　Flow　Software　
Flattener　#4。　Open…Sourcing　
Flattener　#5。　Outsourcing　
Flattener　#6。　Offshoring　
Flattener　#7。　Supply…Chaining　
Flattener　#8。　Insourcing　
Flattener　#9。　In…forming　
Flattener　#10。　
The　Steroids　Three：　The　Triple　Convergence　/　173　
Four：　The　Great　Sorting　Out　/　201　

America　and　the　Flat　World　

Five：　America　and　Free　Trade　/　225　
Six：　The　Untouchables　/　237　
Seven：　The　Quiet　Crisis　/　250　
Eight：　This　Is　Not　a　Test　/　276　

Developing　Countries　and　the　Flat　World　

Nine：　The　Virgin　of　Guadalupe　/　309　
Companies　and　the　Flat　World　
Geopolitics　and　the　Flat　World　
Eleven：　The　Unflat　World　/　371　
Twelve：　The　Dell　Theory　of　Conflict　Prevention　/　414　
Conclusion：　Imagination　
Thirteen：　11/9　Versus　9/11　/　441　
Acknowledgments　I　471　Index　I　475　


：：：：：How　the　World　Became　Flat　

：：：：：　ONE　
While　I　Was　Sleeping　
Your　Highnesses；　as　Catholic　Christians；　and　princes　who　love　and　promote　the　holy　
Christian　faith；　and　are　enemies　of　the　doctrine　of　Mahomet；　and　of　all　idolatry　and　
heresy；　determined　to　send　me；　Christopher　Columbus；　tothe　above…mentioned　countries　
of　India；　to　see　the　said　princes；　people；　and　territories；　and　to　learn　their　
disposition　and　the　proper　method　of　converting　them　to　our　holy　faith；　and　
furthermore　directed　that　I　should　not　proceed　by　land　to　the　East；　as　is　customary；　
but　by　a　Westerly　route；　in　which　direction　we　have　hitherto　no　certain　evidence　that　
anyone　has　gone。　

…　Entry　from　the　journal　of　Christopher　Columbus　on　his　voyage　of　1492　
No　one　ever　gave　me　directions　like　this　on　a　golf　course　before：　〃Aim　at　either　
Microsoft　or　IBM。〃　I　was　standing　on　the　first　tee　at　the　KGA　Golf　Club　in　downtown　
Bangalore；　in　southern　India；　when　my　playing　partner　pointed　at　two　shiny　
glass…and…steel　buildings　off　in　the　distance；　just　behind　the　first　green。　The　
Goldman　Sachs　building　wasn't　done　yet；　otherwise　he　could　have　pointed　that　out　as　
well　and　made　it　a　threesome。　HP　and　Texas　Instruments　had　their　offices　on　the　back　
nine；　along　the　tenth　hole。　That　wasn't　all。　The　tee　markers　were　from　Epson；　the　
printer　company；　and　one　of　our　caddies　was　wearing　a　hat　from　3M。　Outside；　some　of　
the　traffic　signs　were　also　sponsored　by　Texas　Instruments；　and　the　Pizza　Hut　
billboard　on　the　way　over　showed　a　steaming　pizza；　under　the　headline　〃Gigabites　of　
Taste！〃　
No；　this　definitely　wasn't　Kansas。　It　didn't　even　seem　like　India。　Was　this　the　New　
World；　the　Old　World；　or　the　Next　World？　
I　had　come　to　Bangalore；　India's　Silicon　Valley；　on　my　own　Columbus…like　journey　of　
exploration。　Columbus　sailed　with　the　Nina；　the　Pinta；　and　the　Santa　Maria　in　an　effort　
to　discover　a　shorter；　more　direct　route　toIndia　by　heading　west；　across　the　Atlantic；　
on　what　he　presumed　to　be　an　open　sea　route　to　the　East　Indies…rather　than　going　south　
and　east　around　Africa；　as　Portuguese　explorers　of　his　day　were　trying　to　do。　India　
and　the　magical　Spice　Islands　of　the　East　were　famed　at　the　time　for　their　gold；　pearls；　
gems；　and　silk…a　source　of　untold　riches。　Finding　this　shortcut　by　sea　to　India；　at　
a　time　when　the　Muslim　powers　of　the　day　had　blocked　the　overland　routes　from　Europe；　
was　a　way　for　both　Columbus　and　the　Spanish　monarchy　to　become　wealthy　and　powerful。　
When　Columbus　set　sail；　he　apparently　assumed　the　Earth　was　round；　which　was　why　he　
was　convinced　that　he　could　get　to　India　by　going　west。　He　miscalculated　the　distance；　
though。　He　thought　the　Earth　was　a　smaller　sphere　than　it　is。　He　also　did　not　anticipate　
running　into　a　landmass　before　he　reached　the　East　Indies。　Nevertheless；　he　called　
the　aboriginal　peoples　he　encountered　in　the　new　world　〃Indians。〃　Returning　home；　
though；　Columbus　was　able　to　tell　his　patrons；　King　Ferdinand　and　Queen　Isabella；　


that　although　he　never　did　find　India；　he　could　confirm　that　the　world　was　indeed　
round。　
I　set　out　for　India　by　going　due　east；　via　Frankfurt。　I　had　Lufthansa　business　class。　
I　knew　exactly　which　direction　I　was　going　thanks　to　the　GPS　map　displayed　on　the　
screen　that　popped　out　of　the　armrest　of　my　airline　seat。　I　landed　safely　and　on　
schedule。　I　too　encountered　people　called　Indians。　I　too　was　searching　for　the　source　
of　India's　riches。　Columbus　was　searching　for　hardware…precious　metals；　silk；　and　
spices…the　source　of　wealth　in　his　day。　I　was　searching　for　software；　brainpower；　
complex　algorithms；　knowledge　workers；　call　centers；　transmission　protocols；　
breakthroughs　in　optical　engineering…the　sources　of　wealth　in　our　day。　Columbus　was　
happy　to　make　the　Indians　he　met　his　slaves；　a　pool　of　free　manual　labor。　
I　just　wanted　to　understand　why　the　Indians　I　met　were　taking　our　work；　why　they　had　
become　such　an　important　pool　for　the　outsourcing　

of　service　and　information　technology　work　from　America　and　other　industrialized　
countries。　Columbus　had　more　than　one　hundred　men　on　his　three　ships；　I　had　a　small　
crew　from　the　Discovery　Times　channel　that　fit　comfortably　into　two　banged…up　vans；　
with　Indian　drivers　who　drove　barefoot。　When　I　set　sail；　so　to　speak；　I　too　assumed　
that　the　world　was　round；　but　what　I　encountered　in　the　real　India　profoundly　shook　
my　faith　in　that　notion。　Columbus　accidentally　ran　into　America　but　thought　he　had　
discovered　part　of　India。　I　actually　found　India　and　thought　many　of　the　people　I　
met　there　were　Americans。　Some　had　actually　taken　American　names；　and　others　were　
doing　great　imitations　of　American　accents　at　call　centers　and　American　business　
techniques　at　software　labs。　
Columbus　reported　to　his　king　and　queen　that　the　world　was　round；　and　he　went　down　
in　history　as　the　man　who　first　made　this　discovery。　I　returned　home　and　shared　my　
discover）'　only　with　my　wife；　and　only　in　a　whisper。　
〃Honey；〃　I　confided；　〃I　think　the　world　is　flat。〃　
How　did　I　come　to　this　conclusion？　I　guess　you　could　say　it　all　started　in　Nandan　
Nilekani's　conference　room　at　Infosys　Technologies　Limited。　Infosys　is　one　of　the　
jewels　of　the　Indian　information　technology　world；　and　Nilekani；　the　company's　CEO；　
is　one　of　the　most　thoughtful　and　respected　captains　of　Indian　industry。　I　drove　with　
the　Discovery　Times　crew　out　to　the　Infosys　campus；　about　forty　minutes　from　the　heart　
of　Bangalore；　to　tour　the　facility　and　interview　Nilekani。　The　Infosys　campus　is　
reached　by　a　pockmarked　road；　with　sacred　cows；　horse…drawn　carts；　and　motorized　
rickshaws　all　jostling　alongside　our　vans。　Once　you　enter　the　gates　of　Infosys；　though；　
you　are　in　a　different　world。　A　massive　resort…size　swimming　pool　nestles　amid　
boulders　and　manicured　lawns；　adjacent　to　a　huge　putting　green。　There　are　multiple　
restaurants　and　a　fabulous　health　club。　Glass…and…steel　buildings　seem　to　sprout　up　
like　weeds　each　week。　In　some　of　those　buildings；　Infosys　employees　are　writing　
specific　software　programs　for　American　or　European　companies；　in　others；　they　are　
running　the　back　rooms　of　major　


American…　and　European…based　multinationals…everything　from　computer　maintenance　to　
specific　research　projects　to　answering　customer　calls　routed　there　from　all　over　
the　world。　Security　is　tight；　cameras　monitor　the　doors；　and　if　you　are　working　for　
American　Express；　you　cannot　get　into　the　building　that　is　managing　services　and　
research　for　General　Electric。　Young　Indian　engineers；　men　and　women；　walk　briskly　
from　building　to　building；　dangling　ID　badges。　One　looked　like　he　could　do　my　taxes。　
Another　looked　like　she　could　take　my　computer　apart。　And　a　third　looked　like　she　
designed　it！　
After　sitting　for　an　interview；　Nilekani　gave　our　TV　crew　a　tour　of　Info…sys's　global　
conferencing　center…ground　zero　of　the　Indian　outsourcing　industry。　It　was　a　
cavernous　wood…paneled　room　that　looked　like　a　tiered　classroom　from　an　Ivy　League　
law　school。　On　one　end　was　a　massive　wall…size　screen　and　overhead　there　were　cameras　
in　the　ceiling　for　teleconferencing。　〃So　this　is　our　conference　room；　probably　the　
largest　screen　in　Asia…this　is　forty　digital　screens　＇put　together＇；〃　Nilekani　
explained　proudly；　pointing　to　the　biggest　flat…screen　TV　I　had　ever　seen。　Infosys；　
he　said；　can　hold　a　virtual　meeting　of　the　key　players　from　its　entire　global　supply　
chain　for　any　project　at　any　time　on　that　supersize　screen。　So　their　American　designers　
could　be　on　the　screen　speaking　with　their　Indian　software　writers　and　their　Asian　
manufacturers　all　at　once。　〃We　could　be　sitting　here；　somebody　from　New　York；　London；　
Boston；　San　Francisco；　all　live。　And　maybe　the　implementation　is　in　Singapore；　so　
the　Singapore　person　could　also　be　live　here　。　。　。　That's　globalization；〃　said　Nilekani。　
Above　the　screen　there　were　eight　clocks　that　pretty　well　summed　upthe　Infosys　workday：　
24/7/365。　The　clocks　were　labeled　US　West；　US　East；　GMT；　India；　Singapore；　Hong　Kong；　
Japan；　Australia。　
〃Outsourcing　is　just　one　dimension　of　a　much　more　fundamental　thing　happening　today　
in