If you are lazy, the main idea in this article is: Be smart about living, work to better enjoy life, don't live to work.
So here is why this cliche phrase is dead serious:
It’s painful to watch how the once ready-to-grow mentality of the U.S. Entrepreneur is hit by low blows, low cost blows that is. Over and over, 1 mayor factor, is killing developed economies: Cost. Developing countries around the world are sinking, quality of life and economic movement will continue to drop, and then stop, then, as a global economy finalizes its foundation, it will grow again, globally… Have Faith: We will see an easier and less frustrating world in the future. It’s inevitable.
Because developing countries have been so poor, their peoples are ready to work and sell for less. On top of that, because of the natural aggressive competition of poor environments, local business owners and entrepreneurs are ready to sell cheap, taking as much advantage as possible from cheap labor.
We are being leveled; there is nothing to be done. As developing countries let the money flow in, the once unequal collection of economic ponds, divided by our notions of nationality, are slowly turning into one big pond… the lower puddles are filling up, and the higher puddles are going down. Until this “Leveling” is done, the profit margin of poor countries is higher and their ability to compete is systematically higher.
Until global economy becomes one, individuals will continue to be either unjustly enhanced or unjustly penalized by their nation’s ability to compete on price. Add this to power hungry politicians and influential mega-rich and multiply it by the generalized anxiety, and boom. We are here, now.
The near future:
The rich and smart will become richer. Developing countries might be at a disadvantage, but their capital and asset owners are not. As European and U.S investors plant their assets on fertile underdeveloped countries, they are catching the rising wave. They must do this before underdeveloped nationals gain enough capital to refuse their entry. So, the U.S. and Europe may be sinking economically, but some of their more money-savvy citizens are making allot of money. (And don’t hate them for this, because they represent the nails that are attached to the hand that is clinching to the wall and keeping the country afloat. Economy will fluctuate up-wards, its fluctuating downwards.
Defending intellectual property: Bio Technology, Green energy, Information Technology Innovation, health innovation, sustainability research, represent a competitive edge.
Innovation is severely punished by piracy, copyright infringement and royalty payment evasion. The impulse to regulate copy right usage is understandable but debatable. Until underdeveloped countries are rich enough to be in a copyright-respective mentality, there is little to be done from a jurisdictional perspective. The practical perspective is obvious: Innovate in areas that are hard to imitate, and virtually impossible to copy, or build in a plan to take advantage of the way innovation is spread, almost as viraly, through piracy. Open Source was invented by a man who had seen this coming. French dude, humble, who has changed the world.
Cost Reduction and progressive ways of thinking - Live more, consume less, be a smarter human, not a smarter work ant.
The nation’s ability to motivate their citizen’s conscientious, free and active participation, collectively, improves quality of life, morale and spreads progressive ways of thinking. This is not a way to compete when faced against cheap labor; it’s a way to make that kind of competition, irrelevant*.
The advantage of a developed country lies in its experience, instead of cheap labor, it has smart strategies. Instead of price driven consumes, it has smart consumers. Let me illustrate*:
Imagine a rich, ambitious and anxious, little fat Latino dude, who only recently has the ability to pay for a big Mac. Now think of a tall, thin, and well read, blue eyed democrat. While the more conscientious eaters will pay twice for half of the amount, they will seek natural, organic and eco-friendly foods. The little fat Mexican dude will have 2 or 3 Big Macs in a one meal and be dam proud he could afford so much food. The tall thin democrat will have 1 organic, locally farmed chicken breast and 1 cup of bio dynamic, fair-trade, whole grain bowl of brown rice.
Now try to use that as a metaphor to better understand the competitive edge of developed countries, they have already fumbled with the ills of being too rich for their own good. They know (Some of the country’s thinkers anyway) how to be smart about living, not just producing and/or consuming. So while the rest of the world takes economic advantage of their cheap labor, developed countries can focus on socializing the more important values for sustainable living.
*The phrase: “Make competition Irrelevant.” – is used by the book “Blue Ocean Strategy”. Although similar in nature, my use of the phrase is about non-competition and more along the lines of supra-economic collaboration. While the underlying principles of economic growth still apply (Competition, specialization, trade), the values set by the consumers vary tremendously. Demand is, by far, the first step in economic movement.
*The Latino and Democrat stereotypes are exactly that. I'm a white, dark-blond viking looking guy. (Guatemalan, and Latino in all practical sense).
Por amor y para amar.