why so angry?

The series of recent unfortunate events in Mumbai, India and the horrific loss of nearly 200 people have really struck me, with anger, but also confusion. Angry that people, humans, could really do such a thing; take innocent lives in the mass. Confused as to why, and who would do such a thing.

From several witness reports, it has been reported that the terrorists initially yelled out a command for anyone who was British or American to step forward. The attacks were carried out at a couple of high-end hotels where mostly foreigners were staying, a Jewish community center, and a popular café. Obviously, foreigners, and by foreigners, Westerners, were targeted here.

What is it that makes Westerners so hated? This wave of “west-hate” (a phrase that I just coined right now) has become very rampant since Al-Qaeda hit the U.S. in 2001, and while it is madness, there is method to it.

The western culture has spread so rapidly and so extensively into other parts of the world, and it influences masses of people. This includes television, movies, fashion, and even social customs or dialectic lingo. All these facets of the western culture bring also values and morals that westerners hold dear to their hearts, and these may not be in agreement with other cultures.

Perhaps it is jealousy? Jealous of the success that western nations have experienced, in terms of power, money, fame? Perhaps it is because of the large role that the U.S. especially, has in the affairs of several other nations; perhaps they view this as a “putting your hands where they don’t belong” type of situation?

Why do they hate us?

Schumpeter and CREATIVE DESTRUCTION

Joseph Schumpeter asserted in one of his most well-known writings, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, that creative destruction is an evolutionary process through which an economy internally changes and reorganizes itself.  Schumpeter describes this phenomenon with regards to Marx’s argument about capitalism, and how capitalism does, in fact, improve employment, or standards of living.  Capitalism is “by nature a form or method of economic change and, not only never is, but never can be stationary,” says Schumpeter.  He further states that this ever-changing nature of capitalism is not merely fueled by “social or natural” impacts, which he does not deny their importance, but more so by “the capitalist engine in motion” that cranks out newer innovations, newer trends, newer types of consumers, newer ways of organizing an industry, and newer means of production and transportation (5).

Schumpeter liked to emphasize the importance of innovation, and how innovation by itself has the power to outdate current trends, products, ideas, and skills.  Creative destruction may cause a certain population to lose their job, or a product that they might have liked, but in the end, it helps raise people’s standard of living by introducing to them technology and an advanced, more productive way of life.  He presses his readers to understand that “lost jobs, ruined companies, and vanishing industries are inherent parts of the growth system (5).”  Schumpeter just reminds us that through the bad, the good will come, and the good in this scenario is an economy that grows to become more productive and a society that is rewarded with improved working conditions, benefits and salary, thus an increased standard of living.

            I do believe that the globalization taking place during the 21^st century is indeed, “creative destruction on steroids.”  With the increase of communication among people across the globe, all sharing and exchanging ideas, innovation is bound to explode. We have seen already, the trade-of of jobs that creative destruction causes, within even our own country. Steel miners or coal workers from the Northeast or the Midwest are losing their jobs.  Their jobs are being threatened by the increasing amount of imports that the U.S. has chosen to bring in from other places where certain products are being produced at a much lower and more productive rate.  Jobs such as ones for telemarketing companies and software production, or filing taxes are being shifted over to countries where the rate of productivity is higher, technology is allowing these jobs to be taken care of at a higher productivity rate, and thus, people are losing their jobs.

            The accessibility of easier trade is also making way for innovation to come through.  Chances to trade with a nation where certain resources might be cheaper allows for productivity increase as well as an opportunity to trade with a nation with a higher-value currency; a win-win situation for both countries in the deal.  Some argue that trade destroys domestic jobs, and this is true in a literal sense. But arguing through the creative destruction theory here, destroying domestic jobs in turn creates new higher-paying jobs; they’re not the same jobs, but they’re still jobs.  Hence, employment in a certain section of jobs may decrease, but employment and pay as a whole actually increases.

            Now, the kind of marketable skills that were once advertised are not as marketable any more, and employers are looking for potential employees who know how to use the internet, how to network with people using technology, how to communicate with people from across the globe, and even how to speak several languages fluently.  The creative destruction forces even some skills out of the market, not just jobs or industries, creating totally new occupations.  In some cases, workers may be shifted to other alternate industries, but in many cases, they end up losing their jobs and are forced to learn new skills to adapt to the quickly changing job market.

            For the U.S. specifically, I believe that creative destruction in the face of 21^st century globalization will benefit the country. Because creative destruction is all about being on top of your competition, the long-held tradition of American competitiveness will come to use in the coming age.  Although our economy is undergoing a dip, our “vigorous competition and regulatory system that embraces technological change [will make] the U.S. economy productive and provide American households with relatively high incomes (2).”  Industries rise and industries fall, and because of the American ideal of a hard work ethic and motto of “try, try again”, when businesses do encounter failure, it does not discourage our entrepreneurs or workers too much.

            However, this is not to say that there are thousands of American citizens out there who are daily, losing their jobs to foreign competition, or to shifts in employment and industry trends.  But, America continues to create more and more jobs every year, and the unemployment rate continues to stay at a relatively low 6.1%; when in comparison with other nations (4).  And this is what creative destruction is all about. There will be rough patches along the way of destruction, but in time, the good will come and the economy will benefit from higher quality work taking place, and our standards of living being raised as a result.

Works Cited:

1. Cox, W. Michael, and Richard Alm. “Creative Destruction.” Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. 2008. Library of Economics and Liberty. 21 Nov. 2008 <http://www.econlib.org/library/enc/creativedestruction.html>.

2. “Creative Destruction: Empowering individual choice ensures growth and prosperity.” Economics and Trade. 7 Apr. 2008. America.gov. 19 Nov. 2008 <http://www.america.gov/st/econ-english/2008/april/20080415222436eaifas0.5277674.html>.

3. Grennes, Thomas. “Creative Destruction and Globalization.” Publications and Journals. CATO Institute. 20 Nov. 2008 <http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj22n3/cj22n3-10.pdf>.

4. Isidore, Chris. “Jobless rate soars to 6.1%.” CNN 5 Sept. 2008.

5. Schumpeter, Joseph A. “Joseph A. Schumpeter “Creative Destruction”" Eng 205: Literature & the Culture of Information. Apr. 2001. 21 Nov. 2008 <http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/archive/courses/liu/english25/materials/schumpeter.html>.

Obamamania

Whether you agree with the man or not, citizens of the world across nation borders have celebrated Obama’s presidential win. As shown by the photographs below, people from Australia to India will be affected more than ever by this new president. With the borders between countries becoming less and less important, people from all places of the world are celebrating one another’s triumphs. Especially with the Republican failed efforts at keeping a globally-favorable foreign diplomacy alive, citizens from other nations hope that Obama and the Democrat party can improve America’s policies involving other nations and in this way, save the country’s global image. This just goes to show that all nations, no matter what their economic prowess or social influence is, depend on one another and hence, must learn to work together towards future positive progress.

The following photos are from (in order from left to right): Athens, Greece; Basra, Iraq; Beijing, China; Dakar, Senegal; Denmark; New Delhi, India; Jakarta, Indonesia; Obama, Japan; Jerusalem, Israel; Kogelo, Kenya; Kuwait; Manila, Philippines; Moscow, Russia; Sydney, Australia; Paris, France.