Technology, Jobs and International Economics of Political Consequence

She'll have the skills to pay your bills

The big "oh yeah" realization that seems to be going around these days is the decentralization of information. Any one with a laptop can do what I am doing now, upload information for others to soak up. It will be far easier to fill your mind than fill your pocket book in the future. (Unfortunately it will likely continue becoming easier than ever to empty both to boot). The fallout from this brave new reality is that the grunt work for white-collar services is out-sourceable.

Globalization in the 1990s changed the nature of the nation's economy as manufacturing jobs fled abroad to low-wage, skilled and motivated workers. The prospect of the same process overtaking much of the service industry rich nations like ours have come to rely upon is unsettling.

Many people's first reaction is to raise barriers. With the prospect of so much change coming on so quickly it’s only natural to want to stop the flood. I believe that the recent interest in immigration was manifestation of these anxieties though it proved a poor substitute for open discussion of the tectonic changes occurring in global economics and politics. Trying to erect barriers to put our economy and society into a static stability would be disastrous for the nation as well as each individual. As call centers and IT "information supply-chain management"- type works move to India and China we must adapt.

Historians have never praised a society for erecting barriers and trying to shut out the outside world. Open societies that engage with their neighbors, learn, compete and improve grow to be robust, dynamic and resilient. Isolationism breeds brittle, inefficient and decadent stasis. The first hoarse coughs of a decaying nation originate in the impulse to "keep things the way they were, because we were strong then."

Out of challenge and adversity should come inspiration and success. We must recognize the rise of India, China and other developing countries as a great challenge and a great opportunity. As engineers in China and India learn to master information systems of the rich countries, it is our opportunity to define the next generation of opportunity.

This realization, to me, is something that is fundamentally missing from the US today, especially among the young people whom will be required to face this challenge (and are best equipped to succeed in doing so). People are rich, so they know that they don't have to do anything unpleasant to lead comfortable live. Comfortable, predictable, boring, lazy, wasteful, obese lives. But rather than choosing comfort one can choose and commit to a life of exploration, innovation and challenge. We have the opportunity to define ourselves in any way we choose because we are fortunate enough to have the resources. The reality, however, is that it is hardly an option. A difficulty in recognizing this reality is that in the past, it was good enough to get good at a profession, do good work and live well in a rich society. All of those skills that already exist can be taught to eager young people from societies hungry for the chance to work hard (harder, longer and cheaper than you or I). The only way to compete with that is not to compete at all, but find something new.

A young person in China knows what she must do to improve her life and the life of her family: get educated in a useful trade and work at that trade. A young person in the US has no such clarity of vision for the future. That is because we must define ourselves in unique ways that have not been explored yet.

So travel the world, learn languages, become proficient within another culture, explore the boundaries of a scientific field, or new ways to apply old knowledge. It is a daunting task. But it is one with literally limitless potential for growth through challenge, learning and teaching. And America's young people are uniquely placed to do it.

Two things always baffle me. First, when people know what they want to do with their lives. To have one's life already written seems to take all of the fun out of living. Life becomes a series of tasks to achieve a set ends. The second is when people don't have anything they want to do after school. Rather than asking a good question and exploring it, they want an easy answer. It’s not the answer that's important, it’s exploring the question.

Most college graduates are uniquely positioned in that if they put some effort into it, they can go anywhere and do anything. It is your obligation to yourself and others to do so. There is no such thing as wasting time as long as you keep learning from your experiences.

It's the power to write the next chapter, change the world, blaze a trail, find yourself, and love humanity. It's enlightenment and purpose. It’s the obligation to be unique and define yourself thoughtfully. To not be excited by that opportunity is unimaginable.

It's always scary to let go, even when you know can't hold on forever. But scarier still is the prospect of trying to survive statically.

Managing such a monumental adaptation is a task that could never be done well enough. But the vision still inspires. I believe that most people do not see and that is why they are scared.

THERE IS NO END TO LEARNING.