the.world.is.flat-第61节

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upping　their　standards。　
So　are　we　still　working　at　it？　Are　we　tending　to　the　secrets　of　our　sauce？　America　
still　looks　great　on　paper；　especially　if　you　look　backward；　or　compare　it　only　to　
India　and　China　of　today　and　not　tomorrow。　But　have　we　really　been　investing　in　our　
future　and　preparing　our　children　the　way　we　need　to　for　the　race　ahead？　See　the　next　
chapter。　But　here's　a　quick　hint：　
The　answer　is　no。　
：：：：：　SEVEN　
The　Quiet　Crisis　
Close　games　for　the　Americans　were　rare　in　previous　Olympics；　but　now　it　appears　to　
be　something　the　Americans　should　get　used　to。　


…From　an　August　17；　2004；　AP　article　from　the　Athens　Olympics　titled　〃U。S。　Men's　
Basketball　Team　Narrowly　Beats　Greece〃　
You　could　find　no　better　metaphor　for　the　way　the　rest　of　the　world　can　now　compete　
head…to…head　more　effectively　than　ever　with　America　than　the　struggles　of　the　U。S。　
Olympic　basketball　team　in　2004。　The　American　team；　made　up　of　NBA　stars；　limped　home　
to　a　bronze　medal　after　losing　to　Puerto　Rico；　Lithuania；　and　Argentina。　Previously；　
the　United　States　Olympic　basketball　team　had　lost　only　one　game　in　the　history　of　
the　modern　Olympics。　Remember　when　America　sent　only　NCAA　stars　to　the　Olympic　
basketball　events？　For　a　long　time　these　teams　totally　dominated　all　comers。　Then　
they　started　getting　challenged。　So　we　sent　our　pros。　And　they　started　getting　
challenged。　Because　the　world　keeps　learning；　the　diffusion　of　knowledge　happens　
faster；　coaches　in　other　countries　now　download　American　coaching　methods　off　the　
Internet　and　watch　NBA　games　in　their　own　living　rooms　on　satellite　TV。　Many　of　them　
can　even　get　ESPN　and　watch　the　highlight　reels。　And　thanks　to　the　triple　convergence；　
there　is　a　lot　of　new　raw　talent　walking　onto　the　NBA　courts　from　all　over　the　
world…including　many　new　stars　from　China；　Latin　America；　and　Eastern　Europe。　They　
go　back　and　play　for　their　national　teams　in　the　Olympics；　using　the　skills　they　honed　

in　America。　So　the　automatic　American　superiority　of　twenty　years　ago　is　now　gone　
in　Olympic　basketball。　The　NBA　standard　is　increasingly　becoming　a　global　
commodity…pure　vanilla。　If　the　United　States　wants　to　continue　to　dominate　in　Olympic　
basketball；　we　must；　in　that　great　sports　cliche；　step　it　up　a　notch。　The　old　standard　
won't　do　anymore。　As　Joel　Cawley　of　IBM　remarked　to　me；　〃Star　for　star；　the　basketball　
teams　from　places　like　Lithuania　or　Puerto　Rico　still　don't　rank　well　versus　the　
Americans；　but　when　they　play　as　a　team…when　they　collaborate　better　than　we　do…they　
are　extremely　competitive。〃　
Sports　writer　John　Feinstein　could　have　been　referring　to　either　American　engineering　
skills　or　American　basketball　skills　when　he　wrote　in　an　August　26；　2004；　AOL　essay　
on　Olympic　basketball　that　the　performance　of　the　U。S。　basketball　team　is　a　result　
of　〃the　rise　of　the　international　player〃　and　〃the　decline　and　fall　of　the　U。S。　game。〃　
And　the　decline　and　fall　of　the　U。S。　game；　argued　Feinstein；　is　a　result　of　two　
long…term　trends。　The　first　is　a　steady　decline　〃in　basketball　skills；〃　with　American　
kids　just　wanting　to　shoot　either　three…point　shots　or　dunk…　the　sort　of　stuff　that　
gets　you　on　ESPN's　SportsCenter　highlight　reel　…　instead　of　learning　how　to　make　
precise　passes；　or　go　into　the　lane　and　shoot　a　pull…up　jumper；　or　snake　through　big　
men　to　get　to　the　basket。　Those　skills　take　a　lot　of　hard　work　and　coaching　to　learn。　
Today；　said　Feinstein；　you　have　an　American　generation　that　relies　almost　completely　
on　athleticism　and　almost　not　at　all　on　basketball　skills。　And　there　is　also　that　
ugly　little　problem　of　ambition。　While　the　rest　of　the　world　was　getting　better　in　
basketball；　〃more　and　more　NBA　players　were　yawning　at　the　notion　of　playing　in　the　
Olympics；〃　noted　Feinstein。　〃We　have　come　a　long　way　from　1984；　when　Bob　Knight　told　
Charles　Barkley　to　show　up　to　the　second　Olympic　training　camp　at　265　pounds　or　else。　
Barkley　showed　up　weighing　280。　Knight　cut　him　that　day。　In　today's　world；　the　Olympic　
coach　wouldn't　even　have　checked　Barkley's　weight　in　the　first　place。　He　would　have　


sent　a　limousine　to　the　airport　to　get　him　and　stopped　at　Dunkin'　Donuts　on　the　way　
to　the　hotel　if　the　player　requested　it。。。　The　world　changes。　In　the　case　of　American　
basketball；　it　hasn't　changed　for　the　better。〃　
There　is　something　about　post…World　War　II　America　that　reminds　
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me　of　the　classic　wealthy　family　that　by　the　third　generation　starts　to　squander　its　
wealth。　The　members　of　the　first　generation　are　nose…to…the…grindstone　innovators；　
the　second　generation　holds　it　all　together；　then　their　kids　come　along　and　get　fat；　
dumb；　and　lazy　and　slowly　squander　it　all。　I　know　that　is　both　overly　harsh　and　a　
gross　generalization；　but　there　is；　nevertheless；　some　truth　in　it。　American　society　
started　to　coast　in　the　1990s；　when　our　third　postwar　generation　came　of　age。　The　
dot…com　boom　left　too　many　people　with　the　impression　that　they　could　get　rich　without　
investing　in　hard　work。　All　it　took　was　an　MBA　and　a　quick　IPO；　or　one　NBA　contract；　
and　you　were　set　for　life。　But　while　we　were　admiring　the　flat　world　we　had　created；　
a　lot　of　people　in　India；　China；　and　Eastern　Europe　were　busy　figuring　out　how　to　
take　advantage　of　it。　Lucky　for　us；　we　were　the　only　economy　standing　after　World　
War　II；　and　we　had　no　serious　competition　for　forty　years。　That　gave　us　a　huge　head　
of　steam　but　also　a　huge　sense　of　entitlement　and　complacency…not　to　mention　a　certain　
tendency　in　recent　years　to　extol　consumption　over　hard　work；　investment；　and　
long…term　thinking。　When　we　got　hit　with　9/11；　it　was　a　once…in…a…generation　
opportunity　to　summon　the　nation　to　sacrifice；　to　address　some　of　its　pressing　fiscal；　
energy；　science；　and　education　shortfalls…all　the　things　that　we　had　let　slide。　But　
our　president　did　not　summon　us　to　sacrifice。　He　summoned　us　to　go　shopping。　
In　the　previous　chapters；　I　showed　why　both　classic　economic　theory　and　the　inherent　
strengths　of　the　American　economy　have　convinced　me　that　American　individuals　have　
nothing　to　worry　about　from　a　flat　world…provided　we　roll　up　our　sleeves；　be　ready　
to　compete；　get　every　individual　to　think　about　how　he　or　she　upgrades　his　or　her　
educational　skills；　and　keep　investing　in　the　secrets　of　the　American　sauce。　Those　
chapters　were　all　about　what　we　must　do　and　can　do。　
This　chapter　is　about　how　we　Americans；　individually　and　collectively；　have　not　been　
doing　all　these　things　that　we　should　be　doing　and　what　will　happen　down　the　road　
if　we　don't　change　course。　
The　truth　is；　we　are　in　a　crisis　now；　but　it　is　a　crisis　that　is　unfolding　very　slowly　
and　very　quietly。　It　is　〃a　quiet　crisis；〃　explained　Shirley　
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Ann　Jackson；　the　2004　president　of　the　American　Association　for　the　Advancement　of　
Science　and　president　of　Rensselaer　Polytechnic　Institute　since　1999。　（Rensselaer　
is　America's　oldest　technological　college；　founded　in　1824。）　And　this　quiet　crisis　
involves　the　steady　erosion　of　America's　scientific　and　engineering　base；　which　has　
always　been　the　source　of　American　innovation　and　our　rising　standard　of　living。　
〃The　sky　is　not　falling；　nothing　horrible　is　going　to　happen　today；〃　said　Jackson；　
a　physicist　by　training　who　chooses　her　words　carefully。　〃The　U。S。　is　still　the　leading　
engine　for　innovation　in　the　world。　It　has　the　best　graduate　programs；　the　best　
scientific　infrastructure；　and　the　capital　markets　to　exploit　it。　But　there　is　a　quiet　


crisis　in　U。S。　science　and　technology　that　we　have　to　wake　up　to。　The　U。S。　today　is　
in　a　truly　global　environment；　and　those　competitor　countries　are　not　only　wide　awake；　
they　are　running　a　marathon　while　we　are　running　sprints。　If　left　unchecked；　this　
could　challenge　our　preeminence　and　capacity　to　innovate。〃　
And　it　is　our　ability　to　constantly　innovate　new　products；　services；　and　companies　
that　has　been　the　source　of　America's　horn　of　plenty　and　steadily　widening　middle　
class　for　the　last　two　centuries。　It　was　American　innovators　who　started　Google；　Intel；　
HP；　Dell；　Microsoft；　and　Cisco；　and　it　matters　where　innovation　happens。　The　fact　
that　all　these　companies　are　headquartered　in　America　means　that　most　of　the　
high…paying　jobs　are　here；　even　if　these　companies　outsource　or　offshore　some　
functions。　The　executives；　the　department　heads；　the　sales　force；　and　the　senior　
researchers　are　all　located　in　the　cities　where　the　innovation　happened。　And　their　
jobs　create　more　jobs。　The　shrinking　of　the　pool　of　young　people　with　the　knowledge　
skills　to　innovate　won't　shrink　our　standard　of　living　overnight。　It　will　be　felt　
only　in　fifteen　or　twenty　years；　when　we　discover　we　have　a　critical　shortage　of　
scientists　and　engineers　capable　of　doing　innovation　or　even　just　high…value…added　
technology　work。　Then　this　won't　be　a　quiet　crisis　anymore；　said　Jackson；　〃it　will　
be　the　real　McCoy。〃　
Shirley　Ann　Jackson　knows　of　what　she　speaks；　because　her　career　exemplifies　as　well　
as　anyone's　both　why　America　thrived　so　much　in　the　past　fifty　years　and　why　it　won't　
automatically　do　the　same　in　the　next　

fifty。　An　African…American　woman；　Jacks