David Brooks continues to display the keen insights that many other commentators miss. As he points out, the free flow of capital and information worldwide is inherently responsible for the phenomenon we call 'globalization,' Sure, countries like China and India have an advantage of cheaper labor, but more importantly, they are absorbing and capitalizing on the notion that education and creativity lead to economic growth.
They struggle, too, with the cultural and political upheavals that the new wealth creates. I believe they will continue to do so. But the U.S. must embrace the reality that if we squander our young people or ourselves by embracing the Hollywood or TV entertainment beast or allow our education system to founder on the shoals of bureaucracy we will quickly become second rate among the world's nations.
"The central process driving this is not globalization. It’s the skills revolution. We’re moving into a more demanding cognitive age. In order to thrive, people are compelled to become better at absorbing, processing and combining information. This is happening in localized and globalized sectors, and it would be happening even if you tore up every free trade deal ever inked.
The globalization paradigm emphasizes the fact that information can now travel 15,000 miles in an instant. But the most important part of information’s journey is the last few inches — the space between a person’s eyes or ears and the various regions of the brain. Does the individual have the capacity to understand the information? Does he or she have the training to exploit it? Are there cultural assumptions that distort the way it is perceived?
...If you understand that you are living at the beginning of a cognitive age, you’re focusing on the real source of prosperity and understand that your anxiety is not being caused by a foreigner."
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