the.world.is.flat-第2章

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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　the　world；〃　Nilekani　explained。　〃What　happened　over　the　last　＇few＇　years　is　that　
there　was　a　massive　investment　in　technology；　especially　in　the　bubble　era；　when　
hundreds　of　millions　of　dollars　were　invested　in　putting　broadband　connectivity　
around　the　world；　undersea　cables；　all　those　things。〃　At　the　same　time；　he　added；　
computers　became　cheaper　and　dispersed　all　over　the　world；　and　there　was　an　explosion　
of　software…e…mail；　search　engines　like　Google；　and　

proprietary　software　that　can　chop　up　any　piece　of　work　and　send　one　part　to　Boston；　
one　part　to　Bangalore；　and　one　part　to　Beijing；　making　it　easy　for　anyone　to　do　remote　
development。　When　all　of　these　things　suddenly　came　together　around　2000；　added　
Nilekani；　they　〃created　a　platform　where　intellectual　work；　intellectual　capital；　
could　be　delivered　from　anywhere。　It　could　be　disaggregated；　delivered；　distributed；　
produced；　and　put　back　together　again…and　this　gave　a　whole　new　degree　of　freedom　
to　the　way　we　do　work；　especially　work　of　an　intellectual　nature　。　。　。　And　what　you　
are　seeing　in　Bangalore　today　is　really　the　culmination　of　all　these　things　coming　
together。〃　
We　were　sitting　on　the　couch　outside　of　Nilekani's　office；　waiting　for　the　TV　crew　
to　set　up　its　cameras。　At　one　point；　summing　up　the　implications　of　all　this；　Nilekani　
uttered　a　phrase　that　rang　in　my　ear。　He　said　to　me；　〃Tom；　the　playing　field　is　being　


leveled。〃　He　meant　that　countries　like　India　are　now　able　to　compete　for　global　
knowledge　work　as　never　before…and　that　America　had　better　get　ready　for　this。　America　
was　going　to　be　challenged；　but；　he　insisted；　the　challenge　would　be　good　for　America　
because　we　are　always　at　our　best　when　we　are　being　challenged。　As　I　left　the　Infosys　
campus　that　evening　and　bounced　along　the　road　back　to　Bangalore；　I　kept　chewing　on　
that　phrase：　〃The　playing　field　is　being　leveled。〃　
What　Nandan　is　saying；　I　thought；　is　that　the　playing　field　is　being　flattened　。。　。　
Flattened？　Flattened？　My　God；　he's　telling　me　the　world　is　flat！　
Here　I　was　in　Bangalore…more　than　five　hundred　years　after　Columbus　sailed　over　the　
horizon；　using　the　rudimentary　navigational　technologies　of　his　day；　and　returned　
safely　to　prove　definitively　that　the　world　was　round…and　one　of　India's　smartest　
engineers；　trained　at　his　country's　top　technical　institute　and　backed　by　the　most　
modern　technologies　of　his　day；　was　essentially　telling　me　that　the　world　was　flat…as　
flat　as　that　screen　on　which　he　can　host　a　meeting　of　his　whole　global　supply　chain。　
Even　more　interesting；　he　was　citing　this　development　as　a　good　thing；　as　a　new　
milestone　in　human　progress　and　a　great　opportunity　for　India　and　the　world…the　fact　
that　we　had　made　our　world　flat！　
In　the　back　of　that　van；　I　scribbled　down　four　words　in　my　notebook：　〃The　world　is　
flat。〃　As　soon　as　I　wrote　them；　I　realized　that　this　was　the　

underlying　message　of　everything　that　I　had　seen　and　heard　in　Bangalore　in　two　weeks　
of　filming。　The　global　competitive　playing　field　was　being　leveled。　The　world　was　
being　flattened。　
As　I　came　to　this　realization；　I　was　filled　with　both　excitement　and　dread。　The　
journalist　in　me　was　excited　at　having　found　a　framework　to　better　understand　the　
morning　headlines　and　to　explain　what　was　happening　in　the　world　today。　Clearly；　it　
is　now　possible　for　more　people　than　ever　to　collaborate　and　compete　in　real　time　
with　more　other　people　on　more　different　kinds　of　work　from　more　different　corners　
of　the　planet　and　on　a　more　equal　footing　than　at　any　previous　time　in　the　history　
of　the　world…using　computers；　e…mail；　networks；　teleconferencing；　and　dynamic　new　
software。　That　is　what　Nandan　was　telling　me。　That　was　what　I　discovered　on　my　journey　
to　India　and　beyond。　And　that　is　what　this　book　is　about。　When　you　start　to　think　
of　the　world　as　flat；　a　lot　of　things　make　sense　in　ways　they　did　not　before。　But　
I　was　also　excited　personally；　because　what　the　flattening　of　the　world　means　is　that　
we　are　now　connecting　all　the　knowledge　centers　on　the　planet　together　into　a　single　
global　network；　which…if　politics　and　terrorism　do　not　get　in　the　way…could　usher　
in　an　amazing　era　of　prosperity　and　innovation。　
But　contemplating　the　flat　world　also　left　me　filled　with　dread；　professional　and　
personal。　My　personal　dread　derived　from　the　obvious　fact　that　it's　not　only　the　
software　writers　and　computer　geeks　who　get　empowered　to　collaborate　on　work　in　a　
flat　world。　It's　also　al…Qaeda　and　other　terrorist　networks。　The　playing　field　is　
not　being　leveled　only　in　ways　that　draw　in　and　superempower　a　whole　new　group　of　
innovators。　It's　being　leveled　in　a　way　that　draws　in　and　superempowers　a　whole　new　
group　of　angry；　frustrated；　and　humiliated　men　and　women。　


Professionally；　the　recognition　that　the　world　was　flat　was　unnerving　because　I　
realized　that　this　flattening　had　been　taking　place　while　I　was　sleeping；　and　I　had　
missed　it。　I　wasn't　really　sleeping；　but　I　was　otherwise　engaged。　Before　9/11；1　was　
focused　on　tracking　globalization　and　exploring　the　tension　between　the　〃Lexus〃　
forces　of　economic　integration　and　the　〃Olive　Tree〃　forces　of　identity　and　
nationalism…hence　my　1999　book；　The　Lexus　and　the　Olive　Tree。　But　after　9/11；　the　
olive　tree　wars　became　all9　
consuming　for　me。　I　spent　almost　all　my　time　traveling　in　the　Arab　and　Muslim　worlds。　
During　those　years　I　lost　the　trail　of　globalization。　
I　found　that　trail　again　on　my　journey　to　Bangalore　in　February　2004。　Once　I　did；　
I　realized　that　something　really　important　had　happened　while　I　was　fixated　on　the　
olive　groves　of　Kabul　and　Baghdad。　Globalization　had　gone　to　a　whole　new　level。　If　
you　put　The　Lexus　and　the　Olive　Tree　and　this　book　together；　the　broad　historical　
argument　you　end　up　with　is　that　that　there　have　been　three　great　eras　of　globalization。　
The　first　lasted　from　1492…when　Columbus　set　sail；　opening　trade　between　the　Old　World　
and　the　New　World…until　around　1800。1　would　call　this　era　Globalization　1。0。　It　shrank　
the　world　from　a　size　large　to　a　size　medium。　Globalization　1。0　was　about　countries　
and　muscles。　That　is；　in　Globalization　1。0　the　key　agent　of　change；　the　dynamic　force　
driving　the　process　of　global　integration　was　how　much　brawn…how　much　muscle；　how　
much　horsepower；　wind　power；　or；　later；　steam　power…your　country　had　and　how　
creatively　you　could　deploy　it。　In　this　era；　countries　and　governments　（often　inspired　
by　religion　or　imperialism　or　a　combination　of　both）　led　the　way　in　breaking　down　
walls　and　knitting　the　world　together；　driving　global　integration。　In　Globalization　
1。0；　the　primary　questions　were：　Where　does　my　country　fit　into　global　competition　
and　opportunities？　How　can　I　go　global　and　collaborate　with　others　through　my　country？　
The　second　great　era；　Globalization　2。0；　lasted　roughly　from　1800to　2000；　interrupted　
by　the　Great　Depression　and　World　Wars　I　and　II。　This　era　shrank　the　world　from　a　
size　medium　to　a　size　small。　In　Globalization　2。0；　the　key　agent　of　change；　the　dynamic　
force　driving　global　integration；　was　multinational　com