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Transition to a New World Order
What We Leave Behind for the Next Generation
By B. Bahramian
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2012 B. Bahramian
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4772-2902-6
Chapter One
Transition to a New World Order If we are to survive, we must have ideas, vision, and courage. These things are rarely produced by committees. Everything that matters in our intellectual and moral life begins with an individual confronting his or her own mind and conscience in a room alone.
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
Global Vision on Global Economy
In spite of the advancement of technology at a speed not experienced before comparative to all of history, and an unprecedented access to information around the globe, the overall quality of life for a majority of the world's population is declining drastically. Technology designed to improve the quality of life is now woven within the very fabric of human existence for many people and the lifeblood of the commerce of nations and the world. Yet the overall quality of human life for many has not improved, and for some has drastically declined at a pace in step with the advancements of the technology.
One of the underlying problems in the rich versus poor nation dichotomy is that many of the more advanced nations are dominated by the interests of the business community with, in many instances, the elected (or appointed) government taking a more passive role in the governance system than is otherwise acceptable.
Considering the poverty level of almost two-thirds of the world's population, a new world order is needed to insure that human needs are met, and the potential for world-wide terrorism is minimized. The richer one-third of the world's population must find solutions to this over-riding issue if their own well-being is not to be destroyed.
The current poverty level of the world's populational one needs the direct attention of an effective governing system, beyond the systems of elected officials representing parties or empowered appointments. Some believe that at this point in damage control, only a new world order can improve the overall quality of living. Some philosophies seem that they can also benefit homeland security; an imperative aspect during a time of terrorism threats. Although there are several underlying problems in the rich versus poor nation dichotomy — politics, commerce and financial stability, are aspects of this decline in living standards, which need to be carefully modified.
United States President Calvin Coolidge was justly right when he said, "The business of America is business." He could not have sent the message any clearer. This is an aspect of life that the society — has learned to embrace and at the least accept in support of capitalism.
This attitude is still portrayed confidently today by more governments than ever before. The theory that only a new world order could reverse the damage of today's level of poverty does make sense. This passive attitude has compelled political figures to act in the best financial interest of their governing areas and political contributors rather than the quality of living of the citizens. An aggressive government would not just realize and accept the vital role that business plays on the economy. An aggressive government would also create effective ways to balance between the economic social classes, not just the corporations. Though there is an undeniable accuracy in President Coolidge's statement, the fact still lies that what is good for the United States may not necessarily mean the same benefits for the world as a whole. As a matter of fact, it is becoming apparent that even in the U.S. this relation needs a major overhaul — the growing Occupy Movement across the globe is good evidence of this transition.
In most cases, a problem needs to get worse before attention is given for repair. The current state of the world and the quality of life is no different. As President Coolidge indirectly portrayed many years ago, American business and balancing the economy has been and remains a priority for the US. Today, a prime example of how out of control the imbalance has become would be through government assistance programs within the United States. While the information is public knowledge that the American government has made welfare more readily available for citizens than small business loans, most people are shocked when they learn the current statistics.
Even back in 2003 in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Economics, Tom Gorman explained the different roles the government plays in maintaining the balance between wealth and poverty. The overall job of the government, in this aspect, is to manage the economy — in a nutshell. "The federal government implements economic policies aimed at generating full employment as well as low inflation." This includes job creation tax benefits for corporations that benefit wealthy Americans. While creating jobs is a worthwhile cause, the overall figures have to balance out in the end. "When small businesses that generate community jobs and revenue get pushed out by franchises and wholesalers; a gap is created between the classes."
Though the government creates assistance programs to aid in the fight against poverty, these programs come hand in hand with specifically outlined eligibility requirements. And although welfare statistics are currently high in richest nation on earth, a good percentage of the people who need assistance; are unable to qualify. Doesn't this violate human rights? If a government who cannot afford, so to speak, to fulfill their elected obligations of providing the bare essentials to survive, wouldn't a new world order be the solution?
The same can be said about the economic development programs that government have been initiating. The government has taken the initiative to create these programs but yet passively managed their effectiveness. For example, as recently as of this writing, news reports are that the state of Massachusetts allowed welfare recipients to spend $200,000 of Federal taxpayer money on alcohol, tobacco and lottery tickets! This is a direct effect of the government's lack of attention to spending reports and case management.
Anew world order that regulates the standards of government can encourage more women and minority owned businesses, and aggressively support them with the resources needed to survive.
By opening up a business, one is generating revenue for the community, creating jobs for residents as well as making a potential profit for themselves. With the current economy on such a deteriorating path these last few years, small businesses have suffered significantly.
From a political standpoint, governments as a whole have often caused more damage to the economy in their attempts to make adjustments. The strategies and focus areas change as each leader takes the reins. This constant change in power, and in turn, change in focus, weakens economic flow and social structure of any society.
Based on international statistics and information published in almanacs, the world population has surpassed 6.5 billion inhabitants as of early twenty first century. About one third are living in more advanced industrial countries, and the other two third are surviving in advancing areas, with well over one billion living in poverty. All nations are seeking higher standards of living and more prosperity through further economic developments, one way or another. However, the requirements of the two camps vary substantially. In the first camp, societies are generally looking for more economic development in terms of wealth expansion, or more "securities", primarily lead, portrayed, and promoted by business enterprises. Whereas in the second camp, people are struggling for basic necessities of life, such as commodities and infrastructure services for more productivity at home to yield more job opportunities and prosperity. Both camps need global economy to expand, however, their visions and objectives are quite different.
In more industrious and advanced countries, it is the business enterprises that need the economic expansion, which are generally coupled with more greed, and of course more prosperity. In advancing countries, requirements for advancement are geared to fundamental elements of life, which are led by their respective governments. Therefore, the vision for global economy has different perspective for different nations at need with global economy in mind. If all statesmen would have considered the planet Earth alike as a whole — like a true family of nations — then the solutions for globalization would have been much easier to diagnose or cope with. Free trade versus protectionism (restrictive trade practices), technology transfer issues, including patent protection rights, financial mechanisms, planned economy and many more factors affect the process for formulating an acceptable, and more reciprocally-based business relation between the respective countries.
In many advancing countries, enforcement of patent laws of the West is compromised, since local industries are not bound by any regulations or discipline to abide by, especially through the use of Internet to acquire a technology to use. International corporations are naturally hesitant to transfer their developed technologies and know-how to a foreign entity without a reasonable compensation. This, in effect hampers trade as well as joint venture businesses across the globe. Consequently, the development plans or industrialization venues in the receiving countries get affected. For example, during the past decade, China established joint venture enterprises with German, French and the U.S. industries to help curb poverty in China, and create productive employment in the country using the technologies of the respective host countries. However, after a while, once enough technical workforce were trained and they learned the know-how of the business, contracts were cancelled and the adopted technologies found their way by the Chinese enterprises into other parts of the globe, starting to compete with the original owners/developers of technologies at a much lower price and quality. It happened in oil industry, delivering exploration tools and technologies, refineries, railway system, electronics, etc.
On one side of the equation, the receiving partners or countries are thirsty for new technologies to adopt for their economic growth, on the other side, the burden of all that research and development costs by the contributing country would be ignored without any due compensation. This is a great dilemma for both parties to be resolved, if the guest countries need the technology of the host partners, otherwise the speed of progress or development would be seriously affected. In any case, the competitive environment dictates the most efficient and lean operation, delivering high quality goods and services in much disciplined manner for a successful business endeavor. Most businesses in advanced countries enjoy the availability of skilled and knowledgeable workforce in their project implementation. For any advancing country to engage in development or industrialization program, necessary skilled workforce need to be trained to support such objectives. No industry can survive with un-skilled labor force. To produce high quality products efficiently and be competitive in the market, the necessary workforce parallel with other development programs must be assembled and trained in the society. This training program, or production of workforce, need to be regarded as infra-structure tasks of the country to be integrated in harmony with other activities for implementation of development programs.
Solutions in today's broken services are not in patch-up operation or temporary remedy, rather a radical and fundamental design and program for applications. Well trained and devoted workforce can guarantee the most efficient and acceptable deliverables. Problems in today's delivery systems are lack of job responsibilities of workforce as directed from top management or strategists to bottom; i.e., contacts with end-users — watered down quality of work. Job conscience need to be addressed and made a requirement at all levels, from management to supervisors to labor.
The best design, or product, or service which is well thought of, or produced at the top by competent experts or designers, on the way to the end-users' hand passes through a number of stages — managers, bureaucrats, supervisors, and finally a clerk or even a low earning labor to transmit the goods or services to the end-users. If in this process, individuals at every level are not well trained and competent in delivery system, the product, or for that matter, service will fail. In other words, the quality of the deliverables will be watered-down step-by-step and the end-user will suffer from a bad quality product or service. This can be witnessed in our everyday life in insurance services, banking, security services and many other public and private services. Under such circumstances, global economy and even development programs will greatly suffer. All levels of delivery systems need to be manned with competent, trained professionals and monitored for quality of goods or services being rendered.
The Need for Criteria on Economic Advancements
With a new world order and implementation of the respective philosophies, which focus more on economic stability and decreasing the gap between the wealthy and the working class; will securely strengthen the global economy. This is vital to the overall quality of life for all people.
Most businesses today require the implantation of current technology and successful global trading. The use of modern technology can contribute to the economy by solidifying the demand for the mass manufacturing industry; ensuring jobs. Technology can also advance the production of a company by saving labor costs, time and other expenses. Although these advancements also progress business opportunities and in turn, careers — the dependency has created additional expenses for citizens to maintain to ensure job security. Global involvement is becoming pervasive in industry and business. Most businesses large and small are involved in some way in global trading, whether directly with vendors and customers or with the trade or use of products or goods manufactured outside their country.
In the Unites States, the stimulus plan that President Obama implemented presented a strong start to solving the issues the country faces. This stimulus offered aggressive stages for a long-term plan of attack by focusing on both economic growth, freedom of technology to improve the quality of life, as well as the importance of global trading. Even still, this is just one country. And although the US has a long reputation of global involvement with good and bad results, no one country has the power to save the world from the possibilities ahead.
In a time of on-going war and terrorism, a new world order is a logical choice. Global relations are designated and defined in treaty and trading laws. Yet, we can see through the tragic events in recent years that terrorist threats have drastically advanced to life altering realities. The United States has been viewed as the "safety-net" for the world, so to speak. The Land of Opportunity and Freedom. Yet, over the last few decades, the United States has been involved in conflicts with global issues, some unrelated to the United States in no other way but indirect financial gain, though maybe guised under other intentions. During this same time, world poverty has grown to the discouraging 1.4 billion people affected today. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012)
A great deal of human suffering and environmental damage is caused by the growth of population. The world population is presently estimated by the United Nations to be over seven billion people. The total population has grown steadily for the last several hundred years. There are seven times as many people on earth as there were just two hundred years ago. The earth's resources are finite and while more even distribution could raise the standard of living for most, there are not enough resources for more people in the future. Most authorities and experts believe we will reach a global population of ten billion by the year 2050.
Most increases are happening in poverty stricken areas, where this is least affordable. Education and health care resources are needed in these areas to slow the population growth.
Education, as a backbone and infrastructure of any society, will assist in not only increasing the prosperity level of countries, it will curb the population growth, which is getting out of hand in many under-developed nations, and people's moral of participating in their own affairs in developing democratic values as well as innovative measures leading to a more stable and sustainable society, fertile to attract investments and in turn increasing job opportunities.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Transition to a New World Order by B. Bahramian Copyright © 2012 by B. Bahramian. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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