2. Alex Mandel is also a fanatic of globalization, but his view of himself is totally different from that of Braud. Mandel, 6 1 year-old, is the president of AT&T Company. Born in Austria, he now runs a French technology company, whose business in China is growing rapidly. He estimated that he spent about 90% of his time on business trips. Although Mandel has traveled around the world, he still considers himself an American after 45 years as an American citizen. "I don't hesitate to consider myself an American. Although I spent a lot of time in other places, it doesn't change the fact that I am an American, "he said. "
3. Although Braud and Mandel have different definitions of their respective nationalities, they both regard nationality as a matter of personal choice, not determined by their place of birth. Besides, it is no coincidence that both of them are from Davos. Davos people refer to international business elites who travel long distances to small towns in the Swiss Alps every year to attend the annual World Economic Forum. (This forum was founded on 197 1) This week, Braud and Mandel will join more than 2,200 corporate executives, politicians, scholars, journalists, writers and many Hollywood stars for five days of exchange activities, banquets and endless serious discussions. Topics discussed ranged from post-election HIV in Iraq and Africa to global oil supply and the importance of nanotechnology. But this year, a hot topic at the Davos Forum may be Davos itself more than ever before. Although the men and women attending the meeting are different, most of them share a common belief: globalization, that is, the unimpeded cross-border flow of capital, labor and technology, is both welcome and unstoppable. In their view, the world is more and more like a huge internet market. In this market, enterprises seek the best place to buy, produce and sell products and services.
4. As the recognition of borders and countries becomes less important, some people regard it as a threat or even a danger. Professor Samuel from Harvard University? Huntington described Davos people (who first attracted widespread attention in the 1990s) as a new global super species and threat in a paper entitled "Ghost: Denationalization of American Elite". Members of this class, he wrote, "don't need any loyalty to the country and regard national boundaries as obstacles." Fortunately, this obstacle is disappearing. They also regard the national government as a legacy of history, and their only role is to facilitate the global operation of the elite. " Huntington pointed out that Davos's self-image as a global citizen is completely different from that of most Americans. The latter remains firmly loyal to their country. He said that this disconnect has created "a major cultural boundary." The American establishment, government and private enterprises are gradually drifting away from the American public. "
Many people in Davos certainly don't accept Huntington's statement. Klaus, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum? Schwab believes that agreeing with global views does not mean removing national identity. "Globalization will never give us cultural identity, because the latter must be local and national."
6. Global trade has lasted for centuries; In the past, the enterprises and countries that benefited from it were largely satisfied with this point, that is, they regarded the vast areas of the world as places where natural resources were mined or finished products were sold. Although the speed of capital globalization accelerated in the 1980s, most foreign investments still occurred among relatively rich countries, rather than flowing from rich countries to poorer countries. American technology, companies and capital are usually at the forefront of this flow.
7. However, in the past 20 years, other major players have emerged. Developed countries are opening a road to China and India-companies from China and India are looking for future development overseas. Beijing even proposed a "going global" policy to encourage China enterprises to buy overseas assets. John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, said that Asian countries are forming "an excellent innovation environment". "At present, the number of engineering graduates in China and India is more than five times that in the United States." This means that American and European companies are facing high-quality and low-cost competition from overseas. No wonder so many western workers are worried about unemployment. "If the problem involves the size of the whole cake, then globalization has proved to be a good thing." Iris Gardisi, chairman of Bain Management Consulting, said, "If the problem is how to divide the cake and you are a westerner, then you will question globalization."
8. Perhaps the biggest change has just begun. A landmark study conducted by Goldman Sachs Group in 2003 predicted that the strength of the four major economies in the world economy-Russian, Brazilian, Indian and China-would generally exceed expectations. China's economic strength is likely to surpass German in this decade. Goldman Sachs Group said that by 2050, these four economies will probably replace four of the six largest economies in the world except the United States and Japan.
9. In the near future, it is entirely possible that capital flows will break away from the track of Davos-style globalization. Davos's colleague is a Manila woman. These low-paid migrant workers from Asia and other places are providing more and more key services around the world. Valerie Godin, CEO of Bupa Group, a British health care company, said that without immigrant nurses from the Philippines, India and Nigeria, the health care systems in Britain and the United States would collapse. She said that unlike Davos people, they made no secret of their strong patriotic feelings.
10. Not all Davos people are chasing the global market. Patrick Sayre runs a private equity company called Juragio Investment Group in France. He complained that there are still too many obstacles to transnational operation in Europe, not to mention global operation. Therefore, his Juragio investment group focuses on the domestic market. "I'm French, so it's much more convenient for me to do business in France," Searle said. "Other places, too. If you are not Italian but want to do business in Italy, you can't succeed. "
1 1. It sounds like narrow nationalism, but it is full of wisdom. Recall that 186 1 years ago, Italy was not a unified country, but a city-state association. Despite the tension between North and South Italy, there is no contradiction between maintaining regional identity and national identity. For example, Kyle Colochetti Provera, chairman of Telecom Italia, feels that he is both Milan and Italian, even though the company he runs is trying to gain greater international influence. The question is whether Davos people will spend another 140 years figuring out how to achieve the same balance on a global scale.