The World Today

Being a humble man, I know what I say doesn't much influence the world, but I know it's good to put out my opinion about things. Since we live in the world, I found it a good place to start.

1. Globalization: The world is changing. Countries are connecting. Nations are dividing. Rich are getting richer and poor are getting poorer. Why? With the introduction of new information and communication technology, a man can instantly transfer money from his overseas business into his pocket, a woman in malaysia can send an email to her friend in Boise in ten seconds, and I can sit here and share my thoughts with you without needing so much as to open my mouth.

One of the largest problems this generates is outsourcing. Companies that could only afford one factory in the U.S. seemlessly transfer all production to Mexico, China or Liberia where labor is cheap and minimum wage is low or nonexistent. Because the companies stop coffing up for American labor, they are able to lower their prices. This means the middle and upper class buyers of the products save and the bourgois segment of American culture flourishes, but the lower economic strata are left parched of money and dignity, outsuccumbed to lower prices by Mexicans, Chinese and Liberians who have never know anything better than pulling asbestos from walls and don't mind that bad feeling it gives your lungs.

In my opinion, globalization and outsourcing are bad but inevitable. For the first hundred or few hundred years that humanity has the power to easily spread business across the globe, many will take advantage of those who don't have anything better. Hopefully, education and unionization will follow labor and the Liberians will have high school and college diplomas and the ability to create a more productive career for themselves. Petty work will be seen as equally undesirable and desperate in all countries and wages for it will be raised to persuade those who still aren't educated to make the sacrifice.

Another proverbial ray of hope is the continuing advancement of production technology machines are invented every day to do the just humans most abhore and avoid: mine defusing, asbestos removing, sewage processing. Hopefully, robots will not replace people in all areas of blue collar labor before there are cheap educational facilities to provide the former blue collar laborers with another, more desirable career.

The only way to ease the transition from isolated countries to a worldwide civilization is to keep balance and fairness in mind. A governing body, such as the U.N., should keep scientists rushing ahead but be sure their inventions don't replace assembly line workers until those people have another job to do, and that people in Liberia are not forced to take on hazardous work to keep their families from starving.

If we keep our heads over water and see that the human race need to work together and gain eachother's trust in this transitional age, about a hundred years from now everyone will find their place and we will come out of this a better race.

Come back next week (starting June 20) for part two on the war in Iraq.