Hi Neocon; Re: "However, there is a broad trend which seems likely to continue, namely, that the most advanced economies are going beyond industrialization to a "knowledge age" structure, dependent on high tech in telecommunication and computing."
Our high tech jobs are rapidly leaving the country. Where are they migrating to? Places like India, which is now writing software for Microsoft:
microsoft.com
Michigan loses as tech jobs slip overseas
detnews.com
Tech Chiefs Defend Overseas Jobs
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In a report by a trade group for some leading technology companies, executives argued that moving jobs to countries such as China or India -- where labor costs are cheaper -- helps companies break into lucrative foreign markets and hire skilled and creative employees in countries where students perform far better than U.S. students in math and science.
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Intel Chief Executive Craig Barrett said the United States "now has to compete for every job going forward. That has not been on the table before. It had been assumed we had a lock on white-collar jobs and high-tech jobs. That is no longer the case."
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wired.com
Slowdown sending tech jobs overseas
The U.S. economy might be stalling, but at least one niche is hot: shipping technology jobs offshore.
The economic slowdown is speeding up the export of jobs, experts say. As executives face smaller budgets and more pressure for profits, they find it much cheaper to send work to contractors overseas. More U.S. companies are following Silicon Valley's lead by shifting engineering and other technology-related jobs to places such as China, Ireland, India and the Philippines to cut costs.
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siliconvalley.com
Re: "For that reason, emerging industrial giants like China will continue to be behind in the new configuration for the foreseeable future. Thus, it is entirely possible we will remain the sole super power for quite sometime, although it is not a slam dunk."
We once produced 40% of the world's steel. Eventually the world caught up to it. Later, we produced >50% of the world's high tech (like televisions). Eventually the world caught up to it. Now, we produce a substantial percentage of the world's high tech, but you think that they're not going to catch up to it? I say that history proves otherwise.
In fact, what history proves is that while it is possible for small countries to maintain superpower status for limited periods of time, over the long term, it is the larger countries that take the lead.
Good examples of former superpowers now relegated to "power" status, include most of the nations of Europe. Even tiny Holland was once classified as a superpower.
Our basic problem is that we are a tiny nation, with only about 5% of the world's population. China and Japan are catching up on technology just like we once caught up with Britain on technology, just like Japan once caught up with us. But while we were always a lot bigger than Japan, we're 1/3 the population of India and 1/4 the population of China. The numbers are not in our favor.
We need to create a world diplomatic environment very different from the "superpower takes all" version that Bush has been working on. The numbers are not in our favor.
-- Carl
P.S. And by the way, our foreign policy should not be one that depends even on a "slam dunk", LOL. |
