the.world.is.flat-第76节

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order　to　create　the　right　environment　for　their　companies　and　entrepreneurs　to　thrive　
in　a　flat　world；　although　many　of　the　things　I　am　about　to　say　apply　to　many　developed　
countries　as　well。　
When　developing　countries　start　thinking　about　the　challenge　of　flatism；　the　first　
thing　they　need　to　do　is　engage　in　some　brutally　honest　introspection。　A　country；　
its　people　and　leaders　alike；　has　to　be　honest　with　itself　and　look　clearly　at　exactly　
where　it　stands　in　relation　to　other　countries　and　in　relation　to　the　ten　flatteners。　
It　has　to　ask　itself；　〃To　what　

extent　is　my　country　advancing　or　being　left　behind　by　the　flattening　of　the　world；　
and　to　what　extent　is　it　adapting　to　and　taking　advantage　of　all　the　new　platforms　
for　collaboration　and　competition？〃　As　that　Chinese　banking　official　boasted　to　my　
Mexican　colleague；　China　is　the　wolf。　Of　all　the　ten　flatteners；　the　entry　of　China　
into　the　world　market　is　the　most　important　for　developing　countries；　and　for　many　
developed　countries。　China　can　do　high…quality　low…cost　manufacturing　better　than　
any　other　country；　and　increasingly；　it　also　can　do　high…quality　higher…cost　
manufacturing。　With　China　and　the　other　nine　flatteners　coming　on　so　strong；　no　
country　today　can　afford　to　be　anything　less　than　brutally　honest　with　itself。　
To　that　end；　I　believe　that　what　the　world　needs　today　is　a　club　that　would　be　modeled　
after　Alcoholics　Anonymous　（A。A。）。　It　would　be　called　Developing　Countries　Anonymous　
（D。C。A。）。　And　just　as　at　the　first　A。A。　meeting　you　attend　you　have　to　stand　up　and　
say；　〃My　name　is　Thomas　Friedman　and　I'm　an　alcoholic；〃　so　at　Developing　Countries　
Anonymous；　countries　would　have　to　stand　up　at　their　first　meeting　and　say；　〃My　name　
is　Syria　and　I'm　underdeveloped。〃　Or　〃My　name　is　Argentina　and　I'm　underachieving。　
I　have　not　lived　up　to　my　potential。〃　
Every　country　needs　〃the　ability　to　make　your　own　introspection；〃　since　〃no　country　
develops　without　going　through　an　X…ray　of　where　you　are　and　where　your　limits　are；〃　
said　Luis　de　la　Calle；　one　of　Mexico's　chief　NAFTA　negotiators。　Countries　that　fall　
off　the　development　wagon　are　a　bit　like　drunks；　to　get　back　on　they　have　to　learn　
to　see　themselves　as　they　really　are。　Development　is　a　voluntary　process。　You　need　
a　positive　decision　to　make　the　right　steps；　but　it　starts　with　introspection。　
I　Can　Get　It　for　You　Wholesale　During　the　late　1970s；　but　particularly　after　the　fall　


of　the　Berlin　Wall；　a　lot　of　countries　started　to　pursue　development　in　a　new　way　
through　a　process　that　I　call　reform　wholesale。　The　era　of　Globalization　2。0；　when　
the　world　shrank　from　a　size　medium　to　a　size　small；　was　the　
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era　of　reform　wholesale；　an　era　of　broad　macroeconomic　reform。　These　wholesale　reforms　
were　initiated　by　a　small　handful　of　leaders　in　countries　like　China；　Russia；　Mexico；　
Brazil；　and　India。　These　small　groups　of　reformers　often　relied　on　the　leverage　of　
authoritarian　politicalsystems　to　unleash　the　state…smothered　market　forces　in　their　
societies。　They　pushed　their　countries　into　more　export…oriented；　free…market　
strategies…based　on　privatization　of　state　companies；　deregulation　of　financial　
markets；　currency　adjustments；　foreign　direct　investment；　shrinking　subsidies；　
lowering　of　protectionist　tariff　barriers；　and　introduction　of　more　flexible　labor　
laws…from　the　top　down　without　ever　really　asking　the　people。　Ernesto　Zedillo；　who　
served　as　president　of　Mexico　from　1994　to　2000　and　was　finance　minister　before　that；　
once　remarked　to　me　that　all　the　decisions　to　open　the　Mexican　economy　were　taken　
by　three　people。　How　many　people　do　you　suppose　Deng　Xiaoping　consulted　before　he　
declared；　〃To　get　rich　is　glorious；〃　and　opened　the　Chinese　economy；　or　when　he　
dismissed　those　who　questioned　China's　move　from　communism　to　free　markets　by　
saying　that　what　mattered　was　jobs　and　incomes；　not　ideology？　Deng　tossed　over　decades　
of　Communist　ideology　with　one　sentence：　〃Black　cat；　white　cat；　all　that　matters　is　
that　it　catches　mice。〃　In　1991；　when　India's　finance　minister；　Manmohan　Singh；　took　
the　first　tentative　steps　to　open　India's　economy　to　more　foreign　trade；　investment；　
and　competition；　it　was　a　result　not　of　some　considered　national　debate　and　dialogue；　
but　of　the　fact　that　India's　economy　at　that　moment　was　so　sclerotic；　so　unappealing　
to　foreign　investors；　that　it　had　almost　run　out　of　foreign　currency。　When　Mikhail　
Gorbachev　started　dabbling　with　perestroika；　it　was　with　his　back　up　against　the　
Kremlin　wall　and　with　few　allies　in　the　Soviet　leadership。　The　same　was　true　of　
Margaret　Thatcher　when　she　took　on　the　striking　coal　miners'　union　in　1984　and　forced　
reform　wholesale　onto　the　sagging　British　economy。　
What　all　these　leaders　confronted　was　the　irrefutable　fact　that　more　open　and　
competitive　markets　are　the　only　sustainable　vehicle　for　growing　a　nation　out　of　
poverty；　because　they　are　the　only　guarantee　that　new　ideas；　technologies；　and　best　
practices　are　easily　flowing　into　your　coun…　
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try　and　that　private　enterprises；　and　even　government；　have　the　competitive　incentive　
and　flexibility　to　adopt　those　new　ideas　and　turn　them　into　jobs　and　products。　This　
is　why　the　nonglobalizing　countries；　those　that　refused　to　do　any　reform　
wholesale…North　Korea；　for　instance…　actually　saw　their　per　capita　GDP　growth　shrink　
in　the　1990s；　while　countries　that　moved　from　a　more　socialist　model　to　a　globalizing　
model　saw　their　per　capita　GDP　grow　in　the　1990s。　As　David　Dollar　and　Art　Kray　conclude　
in　their　book　Trade；　Growth；　and　Poverty；　economic　growth　and　trade　remain　the　best　
antipoverty　program　in　the　world。　
The　World　Bank　reported　that　in　1990　there　were　roughly　375　million　people　in　China　
living　in　extreme　poverty；　on　less　than　　1　per　day。　By　2001；　there　were　212　million　


Chinese　living　in　extreme　poverty；　and　by　2015；　if　current　trends　hold；　there　will　
be　only　16　million　living　on　less　than　1　a　day。　In　South　Asia…primarily　India；　
Pakistan；　and　Bangladesh…the　numbers　go　from　462　million　in　1990　living　on　less　than　
1　a　day　down　to　431　million　by　2001　and　down　to　216　million　in　2015。　In　sub…Saharan　
Africa；　by　contrast；　where　globalization　has　been　slow　to　take　hold；　there　were　227　
million　people　living　on　less　than　1　a　day　in　1990；　313　million　in　2001；　and　an　
expected　340　million　by　2015。　
The　problem　for　any　globalizing　country　lies　in　thinking　you　can　stop　with　reform　
wholesale。　In　the　1990s；　some　countries　thought　that　if　you　got　your　ten　commandments　
of　reform　wholesale　right…thou　shall　privatize　state…owned　industries；　thou　shall　
deregulate　utilities；　thou　shall　lower　tariffs　and　encourage　export　industries；　
etc。…you　had　a　successful　development　strategy。　But　as　the　world　started　to　get　
smaller　and　flatter…enabling　China　to　compete　everywhere　with　everyone　on　a　broad　
range　of　manufactured　products；　enabling　India　to　export　its　brainpower　everywhere；　
enabling　corporations　to　outsource　any　task　anywhere；　and　enabling　individuals　to　
compete　globally　as　never　before　…reform　wholesale　was　no　longer　sufficient　to　keep　
countries　on　a　sustainable　growth　path。　
A　deeper　process　of　reform　was　required…a　process　I　would　call　reform　retail。　

I　Can　Only　Get　It　for　You　Retail　
What　if　regions　of　the　world　were　like　the　neighborhoods　of　a　city？　What　would　the　
world　look　like？　I'd　describe　it　like　this：　Western　Europe　would　be　an　assisted…living　
facility；　with　an　aging　population　lavishly　attended　to　by　Turkish　nurses。　The　United　
States　would　be　a　gated　community；　with　a　metal　detector　at　the　front　gate　and　a　lot　
of　people　sitting　in　their　front　yards　complaining　about　how　lazy　everyone　else　was；　
even　though　out　back　there　was　a　small　opening　in　the　fence　for　Mexican　labor　and　
other　energetic　immigrants　who　helped　to　make　the　gated　community　function。　Latin　
America　would　be　the　fun　part　of　town；　the　club　district；　where　the　workday　doesn't　
begin　until　ten　p。m。　and　everyone　sleeps　until　midmorning。　It's　definitely　the　place　
to　hang　out；　but　in　between　the　clubs；　you　don't　see　a　lot　of　new　businesses　opening　
up；　except　on　the　street　where　the　Chileans　live。　The　landlords　in　this　neighborhood　
almost　never　reinvest　their　profits　here；　but　keep　them　in　a　bank　across　town。　The　
Arab　street　would　be　a　dark　alley　where　outsiders　fear　to　tread；　except　for　a　few　
side　streets　called　Dubai；　Jordan；　Bahrain；　Qatar；　and　Morocco。　The　only　new　
businesses　are　gas　stations；　whose　owners；　like　the　elites　in　the　Latin　neighborhood；　
rarely　reinvest　their　funds　in　the　neighborhood。　Many　people　on　the　Arab　street　have　
their　curtains　closed；　their　shutters　drawn；　and　signs　on　their　front　lawn　that　say；　
〃No　Trespassing。　Beware　of　Dog。〃　India；　China；　and　East　Asia　would　be　〃the　other　side　
of　the　tracks。〃　Their　neighborhood　is　a　big　teeming　market；　made　up　of　small　shops　
and　one…room　factories；　interspersed　with　Stanley　Kaplan　SAT　prep　schools　and　
engineering　colleges。　Nobody　ever　sleeps　in　this　neighborhood；　everyone　lives　in　
extended　families；　and　everyone　is　working　and　saving　to　get　to　〃the　right　side　of　
the　tracks。〃　On　the　Chinese　str