the.world.is.flat-第13节

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opportunities　for　women；　which　then　affects　the　political　dialogue　and　gives　women　
the　opportunity　for　a　greater　role　in　local　self…government。〃　
Finally；　the　fall　of　the　wall　did　not　just　open　the　way　for　more　people　

to　tap　into　one　another's　knowledge　pools。　It　also　paved　the　way　for　the　adoption　
of　common　standards…standards　onhow　economies　should　be　run；　onhow　accounting　should　
be　done；　on　how　banking　should　be　conducted；　on　how　PCs　should　be　made；　and　on　how　
economics　papers　should　be　written。　I　discuss　this　more　later；　but　suffice　it　to　say　
here　that　common　standards　create　a　flatter；　more　level　playing　field。　To　put　it　
another　way；　the　fall　of　the　wall　enhanced　the　free　movement　of　best　practices。　When　
an　economic　or　technological　standard　emerged　and　proved　itself　on　the　world　stage；　
it　was　much　more　quickly　adopted　after　the　wall　was　out　of　the　way。　In　Europe　alone；　
the　fall　of　the　wall　opened　the　way　for　the　formation　of　the　European　Union　and　its　
expansion　from　fifteen　to　twenty…five　countries。　That；　in　combination　with　the　advent　
of　the　euro　as　a　common　currency；　has　created　a　single　economic　zone　out　of　a　region　
once　divided　by　an　Iron　Curtain。　
While　the　positive　effects　of　the　wall　coming　down　were　immediately　apparent；　the　
cause　of　the　wall's　fall　was　not　so　clear。　There　was　no　single　cause。　To　some　degree　
the　termites　just　ate　away　at　the　foundations　of　the　Soviet　Union；　which　were　already　


weakened　by　the　system's　own　internal　contradictions　and　inefficiencies；　to　some　
degree　the　Reagan　administration's　military　buildup　in　Europe　forced　the　Kremlin　to　
bankrupt　itself　paying　for　warheads；　and　to　some　degree　Mikhail　Gorbachev's　hapless　
efforts　to　reform　something　that　was　unreformable　brought　communism　to　an　end。　But　
if　I　had　to　point　to　one　factor　as　first　among　equals；　itwas　the　information　revolution　
that　began　in　the　early…to　mid…1980s。　Totalitarian　systems　depend　on　a　monopoly　of　
information　and　force；　and　too　much　information　started　to　slip　through　the　Iron　
Curtain；　thanks　to　the　spread　of　fax　machines；　telephones；　and　other　modern　tools　
of　communication。　
A　critical　mass　of　IBM　PCs；　and　the　Windows　operating　system　that　brought　them　to　
life；　came　together　in　roughly　this　same　time　period　that　the　wall　fell；　and　their　
diffusion　put　the　nail　in　the　coffin　of　communism；　because　they　vastly　improved　
horizontal　communication…to　the　detriment　of　the　exclusively　top…down　form　that　
communism　was　based　upon。　They　also　greatly　enhanced　personal　information　gathering　
and　personal　empowerment。　（Each　component　of　this　information　revolu

tion　was　brought　about　by　separate　evolutions：　The　phone　network　evolved　from　the　
desire　of　people　to　talk　to　each　other　over　long　distances。　The　fax　machine　evolved　
as　a　way　to　transmit　written　communication　over　the　phone　network。　The　PC　was　diffused　
by　the　original　killer　apps…spreadsheets　and　word　processing。　And　Windows　evolved　
out　of　the　need　to　make　all　of　this　usable；　and　programmable；　by　the　masses。）　
The　first　IBM　PC　hit　the　markets　in　1981。　At　the　same　time；　many　computer　scientists　
around　the　world　had　started　using　these　things　called　the　Internet　and　e…mail。　The　
first　version　of　the　Windows　operating　system　shipped　in　1985；　and　the　real　
breakthrough　version　that　made　PCs　truly　user…friendly…Windows　3。0…shipped　on　May　
22；　1990；　only　six　months　after　the　wall　went　down。　In　this　same　time　period；　some　
people　other　than　scientists　started　to　discover　that　if　they　bought　a　PC　and　a　dial…up　
modem；　they　could　connect　their　PCs　to　their　telephones　and　send　e…mails　through　
private　Internet　service　providers…like　CompuServe　and　America　Online。　
〃The　diffusion　of　personal　computers；　fax　machines；　Windows；　and　dial…up　modems　
connected　to　a　global　telephone　network　all　came　together　in　the　late　1980s　and　early　
1990s　to　create　the　basic　platform　that　started　the　global　information　revolution；〃　
argued　Craig　J。　Mundie；　the　chief　technology　officer　for　Microsoft。　The　key　was　the　
melding　of　them　all　together　into　a　single　interoperable　system。　That　happened；　said　
Mundie；　once　we　had　in　crude　form　a　standardized　computing　platform…the　IBM　PC…along　
with　a　standardized　graphical　user　interface　for　word　processing　and　
spreadsheets…Windows…along　with　a　standardized　tool　for　communication…dial…up　
modems　and　the　global　phone　network。　Once　we　had　that　basic　interoperable　platform；　
then　the　killer　applications　drove　its　diffusion　far　and　wide。　
〃People　found　that　they　really　liked　doing　all　these　things　on　a　computer；　and　they　
really　improved　productivity；〃　said　Mundie。　〃They　all　had　broad　individual　appeal　
and　made　individual　people　get　up　and　buy　a　Windows…enabled　PC　and　put　it　on　their　
desk；　and　that　forced　the　diffusion　of　this　new　platform　into　the　world　of　corporate　
computing　even　more。　People　said；　'Wow；　there　is　an　asset　here；　and　we　should　take　


advantage　of　it。'〃　
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The　more　established　Windows　became　as　the　primary　operating　system；　added　Mundie；　
〃the　more　programmers　went　out　and　wrote　applications　for　rich…world　businesses　to　
put　on　their　computers；　so　they　could　do　lots　of　new　and　different　business　tasks；　
which　started　to　enhance　productivity　even　more。　Tens　of　millions　of　people　around　
the　world　became　programmers　to　make　the　PC　do　whatever　they　wanted　in　their　own　
languages。　Windows　was　eventually　translated　into　thirty…eight　languages。　People　
were　able　to　become　familiar　with　the　PC　in　their　own　languages。〃　
This　was　all　new　and　exciting；　but　we　shouldn't　forget　how　constricted　this　early　
PC…Windows…modem　platform　was。　〃This　platform　was　constrained　by　too　many　
architectural　limits；〃　said　Mundie。　〃There　was　missing　infrastructure。〃　The　Internet　
as　we　know　it　today…with　seemingly　magical　transmission　protocols　that　can　connect　
everyone　and　everything…had　not　yet　emerged。　Back　then；　networks　had　only　very　basic　
protocols　for　exchangingfiles　and　e…mail　messages。　Sopeople　who　were　using　computers　
with　the　same　type　of　operating　systems　and　software　could　exchange　documents　through　
e…mail　orfile　transfers；　but　even　doing　this　was　tricky　enough　that　only　the　computing　
elite　took　the　trouble。　You　couldn't　just　sit　down　and　zap　an　e…mail　or　a　file　to　
anyone　anywhere…especially　outside　your　own　company　or　outside　your　own　Internet　
service…the　way　you　can　today。　Yes；　AOL　users　could　communicate　withCompuServe　users；　
but　it　was　neither　simple　nor　reliable。　As　a　result；　said　Mundie；　a　huge　amount　of　
data　and　creativity　was　accumulating　in　all　those　computers；　but　there　was　no　easy；　
interoperable　way　to　share　it　and　mold　it。　People　could　write　new　applications　that　
allowed　selected　systems　to　work　together；　but　in　general　this　was　limited　to　planned　
exchanges　between　PCs　within　the　network　of　a　single　company。　
This　period　from　11/9　to　the　mid…1990s　still　led　to　a　huge　advance　in　personal　
empowerment；　even　if　networks　were　limited。　It　was　the　age　of　〃Me　and　my　machine　can　
now　talk　to　each　other　better　and　faster；　so　that　I　personally　can　do　more　tasks〃　
and　the　age　of　〃Me　and　my　machine　can　now　talk　to　a　few　friends　and　some　other　people　
in　my　company　better　and　faster；　so　we　can　become　more　productive。〃　The　walls　had　
fallen　and　the　Windows　had　opened；　making　the　world　much　flatter　than　it　
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had　ever　been…but　the　age　of　seamless　global　communication　had　not　dawned。　
Though　we　didn't　notice　it；　there　was　a　discordant　note　in　this　exciting　new　era。　
It　wasn't　only　Americans　and　Europeans　who　joined　the　people　of　the　Soviet　Empire　
in　celebrating　the　fall　of　the　wall…and　claming　credit　for　it。　Someone　else　was　raising　
a　glass…not　of　champagne　but　of　thick　Turkish　coffee。　His　name　was　Osama　bin　Laden　
and　he　had　a　different　narrative。　His　view　was　that　it　was　the　jihadi　fighters　in　
Afghanistan；　of　which　he　was　one；　who　had　brought　down　the　Soviet　Empire　by　forcing　
the　Red　Army　to　withdraw　from　Afghanistan　（with　some　help　from　U。S。　and　Pakistani　
forces）。　And　once　that　mission　had　been　accomplished…　the　Soviets　completed　their　
pullout　from　Afghanistan　on　February　15；　1989；　just　nine　months　before　the　fall　of　
the　Berlin　Wall…bin　Laden　looked　around　and　found　that　the　other　superpower；　the　
United　States；　had　a　huge　presence　in　his　own　native　land；　Saudi　Arabia；　the　home　


of　the　two　holiest　cities　in　Islam。　And　he　did　not　like　it。　
So；　while　we　were　dancing　on　the　wall　and　opening　up　our　Windows　and　proclaiming　that　
there　was　no　ideological　alternative　left　to　free…market　capitalism；　bin　Laden　was　
turning　his　gun　sights　on　America。　Both　bin　Laden　and　Ronald　Reagan　saw　the　Soviet　
Union　as　the　〃evil　empire；〃　but　bin　Laden　came　to　see　America　as　evil　too。　He　did　
have　an　ideological　alternative　to　free…market　capitalism…political　Islam。　He　did　
not　feel　defeated　by　the　end　of　the　Soviet　Union；　he　felt　emboldened　by　it。　He　did　
not　feel　attracted　to　the　widened　playing　field；　he　felt　repelled　by　it。　And　he　was　
not　alone。　Some　thought　that　Ronald　Reagan　brought　down　the　wall　by　bankrupting　the　
Soviet　Union　through　an　arms　race；　others　thought　IBM；　Steve　Jobs；　and　Bill　Gates　
brought　down　the　w