TWIF+Chapter+10

"The Virgin of Guadalupe" (Mary Anne Puentes - Summary)

"We know the basic formula for economic succes - reform wholesale, followed by reform retail, plus good governance, education, infrastructure and the ability to glocalize" (427)

What is it that makes some countries lift themselves out of poverty and others to remain mired in defeat? These and other questions about how countries economically succeed or fail are analyzed at length in this chapter. Friedman first suggests a term he refers to as "reform wholesale". This means that in order to compete in a global world, companies would have to adopt market friendly macroeconomic policies. "Reform Retail" is about upgrading the "infrastructure, education, and governance " (412) which would result in people having the necessary tools to compete. "Good governance" refers to not only having a government that is willing to change its policies and adapt, but also one that has a working relationship with its people. Governments with strict regulations who are not willing to reform are working against themselves. If a business person who is trying to collect a debt has to wait 5 years to do so, they are likely to only do business with a few good customers who pay, thus stagnating the economy. The only people who reap the benefits of too much regulating are the priveledged and/or the politicians who line their pockets with the "donations" of the wealthy. Likewise, a country whose beaurocracy forces those who wish to open a business or purchase a house to go through a year's worth of paper trails and red tape is halting progress tremendously. However, a government with less stringent regulatory laws and one that makes higher education a priority, while making it affordable, will produce people who can compete in a fast paced global market. Countries such as Ireland have managed to dig themselves out of debt to become one of the world's most legendary rags- to- riches success stories. They now house the majority of the world's top pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, and software firms. They have succeeded regardless of political affiliation primarily because of their willingness to change and a hunger to succeed. The infrastructure of Ireland was a solid one. It worked //with// the people; not against them. It did not set down rules for all to follow. Instead, the government took a look at reform. They saw the changes that needed to be made and by lowering the cost of education at both the secondary and college level, were able to attract and produce more engineers and scientists to help the economy flourish. In addtion, Ireland has flexible labor laws which means that they are not beholden to employees who are not working to their full potential. A better infrastructure, combined with good governance and higher education that is easily attainable are a recipe for success. Friedman begs the question, "why do some countries get over this reform retail hump, with leaders able to mobilize their people to really improve their infrastructure, education and governance, and other countries stall?" (420) He confidently answers himself with, "One answer is culture." (420) While this may sound like several racial slurs rolled into one sentence, he makes a solid case. Friedman speculates that countries who are not only mired in tradition, but drowning in it, are not willing to open themselves up to the idea of "glocalizing". He cites the Arab Middle East as being some of the world's most resistant, though "some liberal Arab commentators are now focusing" on that. (423) In some cultures, their traditional beliefs and attitudes have halted progress. For example, a culture that denies women the opportunity for education and a chance to be viable members of the workforce is limiting its labor pool. It is also granting its male population a sense of entitlement that can be detrimental to progress. A single gender society of workers with a sense of entitlement will likely be more resistant to change in any form. Some countries allow their ideologies to stand in the way of doing business with those who are not of the same culture or religion. By resisting change, they resist progress. Friedman calls this the "intangible things". Although a strong sense of culture and tradition can hinder progress, it can also be a catalyst for success. There is also a "those who cannot remember history are condemned to repeat it" mantra at work here. Families whose immigrant relatives didn't finish school past the second grade are now, generations later, moving through some of the best schools in the country with doctoral degrees. The chapter concludes by reaffirming that "globalization has a huge potential to lift large numbers of people out of poverty." (437) However, globalization must be done right - that is, it must not be resistant to change, it must provide a solid infrastructure, governance, and educational system. Countries cannot succeed without the full recipe. There cannot be change just for the sake of change. It must be constant, looked at often, and reformed when the need arises.


 * Somehow I have mangaged to delete Gina Grosso's first paragraph and header!! I am SO sorry, Gina!! I don't know how to get it back!! Mary Anne**

a wake up call here. I am totally aware of the fact that this is a business book, but when I read the line, “I found myself asking people I met around the world where they were when they first discovered that the world was flat” (403), I asked myself when did I find out that our education system was flat too, literally and figuratively? As Friedman has been trying to teach us, in the years we have been feeling too comfortable at the top, there have been other educational systems who were living by the motto, “First we were afraid of the wolf, then we wanted to dance with the wolf, and now we want to be the wolf,” (404), and they are rapidly becoming our wolf like enemy and they’re eating our students alive.

The ideas that really resonated with me in this chapter were that all of the countries who were flourishing in industry were countries who were hungry. That hunger propelled them to embrace change and to work on their shortcomings. China adapted to different cultures and shed their stoic, old communist business practices. Ireland said if we don’t change things in dramatic ways then our country is literally going to starve to death, and because of that, they are one of the most successful European countries (although I do believe I saw a report on NBC’s Nightly News that said when the economic down turn broke out last year, Ireland was starting to lose a lot of the ground it had gained). If we are not willing to embrace change in education in the way these counties embraced change in business, then we are never going to reach the pinnacle of a first class education. It’s just not going to happen with all that resistance.

Introspection is key in this new wave of education. If we are unwilling to admit that our practices are antiquated and our methodology and high theory are falling short, then we will never be able to move forward. If we are not going to be “looking brutally honestly at (our) strengths and (our) weaknesses” (407), then we will only be selling our students short. Not only do we have to be honest with ourselves, but we have to be honest with them. Just today, I was talking with my eighth grade students about what the job market is going to look like when they enter it. They looked a little panicked when I told them I honestly had no idea what that market would look like and what those jobs would be. I informed them the streets of being a lawyer or accountant are no longer paved with gold. Their jaws dropped. I told them the best skill I can teach them is how to adapt, and if they could do that, then I had no fear they could be successful. In truth, not only will we have to be more introspective as educators and administrators, but our students will have to be far more introspective then we were, and that’s a lot for developing minds under the age of eighteen.

I really liked the idea that “in 1996, Ireland made public college education basically free, creating an even more educated workforce,”(418), which goes to show our higher educational institutions need an overhaul as well. Not only are our public schools at the primary and secondary level not working for our kids, but even our state schools are becoming unaffordable for our lower income students who deserve a fair shot at access to education. In our comfy place at the top, we started to forget about the so called “little people” which has proven to be a recipe for disaster.

Friedman makes some great points about how education is really propelled by an overarching cultural belief system. We have allowed our students to be too comfortable. They no longer have the fight or drive in them that our depression era and immigrant grandparents had. They are entitled and feel that someone will always be there to take care of them. There is nothing working against our students more then their belief in that untruth which “discourages what it takes to improve, to advance, and to achieve” (423). We need to teach our students to unlearn these cultural beliefs and ask them to hunger for knowledge and success again. Even the culture of our teaching reinforces that students deserve A’s and that everyone should be number one. We live in a capitalist society that gives us a harsh glance into reality after we get out of the protective corridors of school. We do not all deserve to be number one. In fact, it is and should be quite the opposite. Whoever is willing to work the hardest, will make it to the finish line first. We need to adapt to the changing world, but we also need to take an introspective moment and get back to our roots.

At the end of the day, “China doesn’t just want to learn how to make GM cars. It wants to be GM and put GM out of business” (432). If we don’t change our ways, we’ll be sharing a boat with GM to the deep end of the ocean.