Globalization and the power of creative destruction | Tom Palmer | TEDxIbmec
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0:10 - 0:11Thank you very much.
-
0:11 - 0:16It's a difficult act to follow
someone such as Diogo Costa, -
0:16 - 0:18but I will do my best.
-
0:18 - 0:22I want to address the question
of creative destruction -
0:22 - 0:25in a somewhat different context.
-
0:25 - 0:28There's a lot of data
that's been presented, -
0:28 - 0:30I'll talk about that very briefly,
-
0:30 - 0:33but I want to look at it
in the context of globalization, -
0:33 - 0:36just another controversial issue.
-
0:36 - 0:39Many people start
the discussion by assuming -
0:39 - 0:43that the term "globalization"
has a negative meaning. -
0:43 - 0:46I don't think that's good social science.
-
0:46 - 0:50We should start with a neutral meaning,
and then, investigate, in the world, -
0:50 - 0:55whether something is having
a positive or a negative impact. -
0:55 - 0:59So, one common approach
to understanding globalization, -
0:59 - 1:02that does not tell you
if it's a good or a bad thing, -
1:02 - 1:06is to refer to the diminution
or elimination -
1:07 - 1:12of state-enforced restrictions
on exchange across political borders - -
1:12 - 1:14so between, for instance,
Brazil and Argentina, -
1:14 - 1:16or the United States and Canada,
-
1:16 - 1:21or Japan and Kenya -
-
1:21 - 1:26and then, the increasingly integrated
and complex global system of exchange, -
1:26 - 1:30commerce, and production
that has emerged as a result. -
1:30 - 1:33So, this doesn't tell us if it's
a good thing or if it's a bad thing, -
1:33 - 1:37but it is a trend that we can
identify in the world. -
1:37 - 1:38It's not a new thing.
-
1:38 - 1:42People have been talking
about globalization for a very long time. -
1:42 - 1:46The philosopher
Democritus of Abdera told us, -
1:46 - 1:49"To a wise man, the whole earth is open,
-
1:49 - 1:54and for the native land
of a good soul is the entire earth." -
1:54 - 1:57Now, we can ask, "Is it accelerating?"
-
1:57 - 2:00And rather than presenting you with data,
-
2:00 - 2:03I'm going to suggest
you can find out on your own. -
2:03 - 2:06You can go to the global internet.
-
2:06 - 2:08For the first time
in the history of humanity, -
2:08 - 2:12we have an entirely globalized
information system. -
2:12 - 2:15And here are some of the things
you could check through Google, -
2:15 - 2:18or other search engines.
-
2:18 - 2:23International trade in goods,
as a percentage of economic output: -
2:23 - 2:25has it been rising or falling?
-
2:25 - 2:28Hint: rising, quite dramatically.
-
2:28 - 2:31International trade in services?
-
2:31 - 2:35That's an interesting one
because, for most of human history, -
2:35 - 2:38services could not be traded
internationally. -
2:38 - 2:42You could not have your hair cut
in a different country, for example, -
2:42 - 2:45or get a massage on a different continent,
-
2:45 - 2:51but now, services increasingly can be
traded across international borders. -
2:51 - 2:54We can look at cross-border investment,
-
2:54 - 2:57that is to say, investors in one country
-
2:57 - 3:02who own assets or businesses
in other countries. -
3:03 - 3:05International tourist arrivals.
-
3:05 - 3:08That's one that is rarely talked about
in the economic context, -
3:08 - 3:12but you'd find an incredibly
steep upward curve -
3:12 - 3:16in the amount of people
traveling around the world. -
3:16 - 3:18When I was young,
you never saw a Chinese tourist, -
3:18 - 3:21unless they were from Taiwan or Hong Kong.
-
3:21 - 3:26Now, people from the mainland can be seen
as tourists all around the world, -
3:26 - 3:29a huge increase in international travel.
-
3:29 - 3:33And then, finally,
international telephone calls, -
3:33 - 3:36more people connecting with friends,
neighbors, families, -
3:36 - 3:39all around the planet.
-
3:39 - 3:44I was just at a conference like this,
in Kenya, in Nairobi, -
3:44 - 3:47and one of the speakers asked something.
-
3:47 - 3:53He said, "How many of you here have
friends who live in other countries?" -
3:54 - 3:57And the majority of their hands went up,
of East African students. -
3:57 - 4:02He said, "You are the first generation
of whom that could be said. -
4:02 - 4:08You have friends in Canada, and Korea,
and South Africa, and Germany. -
4:08 - 4:11That has never happened before."
-
4:11 - 4:14It's an enormous change in the world,
-
4:14 - 4:16and we can go and measure it.
-
4:17 - 4:21Now, I want to put it
in a cultural context, though; -
4:21 - 4:26not so much about economic data
and how this is raising living standards, -
4:26 - 4:30but often we hear it said
that this is harmful to culture. -
4:30 - 4:34I want to tell a little story
about Guatemalan women -
4:34 - 4:38and the clothes that they wear,
the traditional Huipil and Corté. -
4:38 - 4:44Huipil is a kind of a shirt
for the top part of her body, -
4:44 - 4:49and the Corté is a skirt which she wraps
around herself and folds over. -
4:49 - 4:53I had a tremendous
opportunity in Guatemala. -
4:53 - 4:58I was teaching at the
Francisco Marroquín University, -
4:58 - 5:01and one of the professors there
is an anthropologist. -
5:01 - 5:04He made a great offer, and he said,
"You know, next weekend, -
5:04 - 5:07I'm going to go visit my family
in the Mayan Highlands." -
5:07 - 5:10He's an indigenous person, and he's Mayan.
-
5:10 - 5:12He said, "Would you like to come with?"
-
5:12 - 5:14And I am really glad I said yes,
-
5:14 - 5:18because I saw a part of the country
I never would have seen otherwise. -
5:18 - 5:24I got to see a different way
of understanding that complicated country. -
5:26 - 5:30It's told me, as we were driving,
he takes many foreigners -
5:30 - 5:32because he's an anthropologist,
-
5:32 - 5:37so he has visitors from universities
in France, England, America and elsewhere, -
5:37 - 5:39who want to go "study" the Indians,
-
5:39 - 5:44and he speaks the Mayan languages,
as well as Spanish and English. -
5:44 - 5:49And he said, "Consistently,
they complain about one thing," -
5:49 - 5:53which is the Mayan women
are wearing their Cortés and Huipils -
5:53 - 5:55less often than they used to.
-
5:56 - 5:59They say, "I was here ten years ago,
and all the women had them. -
5:59 - 6:01Now, not so many."
-
6:03 - 6:07They concluded that the Guatemalan women
were being robbed of their culture, -
6:07 - 6:10that they were victims of globalization.
-
6:12 - 6:14But what was interesting, he said,
-
6:14 - 6:21not once had he ever heard a foreigner
ask a Guatemalan woman a question, -
6:21 - 6:26the simple question: "Why are you
not dressed like your grandmother?" -
6:27 - 6:30That seems a little strange,
and maybe rude, -
6:30 - 6:35but increasingly, the indigenous women
are wearing clothes for everyday purpose -
6:35 - 6:39like the women you would see
in Brazilian cities, -
6:39 - 6:43and they reserve their Corté
for special occasions: -
6:43 - 6:49weddings, for going to church,
for special family occasions. -
6:51 - 6:56He, however, is a scientist,
and he speaks the local language. -
6:56 - 6:58So, he asked them,
-
6:58 - 7:01"Why do you not wear the Corté?"
-
7:01 - 7:05And he said, "I always get
the same answer, in one form or another. -
7:05 - 7:08They say this has become too expensive.
-
7:09 - 7:11These are too expensive."
-
7:12 - 7:16Now, they're handmade,
made generally by women, -
7:16 - 7:19it's traditionally
considered "women's work," -
7:19 - 7:22And they take a long time to make.
-
7:22 - 7:25They're very elaborate works of art.
-
7:27 - 7:32What does it mean for her to say
these have become too expensive? -
7:32 - 7:34Well, what does "expensive" mean?
-
7:34 - 7:37It means you have to give up
more to get it. -
7:38 - 7:42Well, it's labors what she has
to give up. To get what? -
7:43 - 7:48In economic terms, what it means is,
for the first time in their history, -
7:48 - 7:53the value of the labor
of an indigenous woman is rising. -
7:53 - 7:55That's what it means.
-
7:55 - 7:58The value of her labor is rising.
-
7:58 - 8:04So, she could make a Corté for herself,
and wear it, every day. -
8:04 - 8:07working in the field, doing her work,
-
8:07 - 8:11or she could make it
and sell it to a lady in France. -
8:11 - 8:14They're very expensive.
-
8:14 - 8:18And with the money she earns,
she could by five or six outfits -
8:18 - 8:21like Brazilian women wear,
-
8:21 - 8:24and have enough money
also to buy eyeglasses, -
8:24 - 8:26so she can see at a distance,
-
8:26 - 8:31and to buy shoes and school books
for her daughter, -
8:31 - 8:35so she can go to school
and learn to read and write, -
8:35 - 8:38so she can buy medicine
against dengue fever, -
8:38 - 8:40which they don't have
in France and America, -
8:40 - 8:43where they complain about these things.
-
8:44 - 8:46So, the question is:
-
8:47 - 8:51was her life made worse off
-
8:51 - 8:57by the opportunity to trade with people
in France, in the United States, -
8:57 - 9:00in Germany, and elsewhere?
-
9:01 - 9:04She now can buy more with her labor,
-
9:04 - 9:07and she reserves the Corté
for going to church, -
9:07 - 9:09not for everyday work.
-
9:10 - 9:12And the other question is:
-
9:12 - 9:17from whose perspective
has her life been made better or worse? -
9:17 - 9:20From the perspective
of the foreign tourist, it's worse, -
9:20 - 9:24you don't see colorful
native people as often, -
9:24 - 9:27but maybe, from her perspective,
it's an improvement. -
9:27 - 9:31I personally have heard,
said by foreigners in Guatemala, -
9:31 - 9:36complaints when they see indigenous people
take out mobile telephones. -
9:36 - 9:41"Oh, it ruined the whole experience!
It wasn't authentic!" -
9:41 - 9:43They're supposed to have
"smoke signals," or something. -
9:43 - 9:44(Laughter)
-
9:44 - 9:47They didn't like it, but they didn't think
from the perspective -
9:47 - 9:49of that indigenous person.
-
9:49 - 9:52What does it mean
to have a mobile telephone? -
9:52 - 9:56It means you can call your parents
and talk to them. -
9:56 - 10:00You don't learn two weeks later
that your mother got sick, -
10:00 - 10:03and you didn't have time to visit her.
-
10:03 - 10:07You get a phone call from your dad,
saying, "Momma is sick, come home." -
10:07 - 10:10Is that a positive thing
for your life or not, -
10:10 - 10:13from the perspective of that person?
-
10:14 - 10:16Now, if we want to look at it,
-
10:16 - 10:21what's happening in the world
is this process of creative destruction, -
10:21 - 10:24from an economic perspective.
-
10:24 - 10:28Joseph Schumpeter is one of the most
important economists of the last century. -
10:28 - 10:30He was really a great genius,
-
10:30 - 10:36and these are some of the most intelligent
words ever written in economics. -
10:36 - 10:40It's about a dynamic perspective,
not a static perspective, -
10:41 - 10:44"The problem that is usually
being visualized -
10:44 - 10:48is how capitalism
administers existing structures, -
10:48 - 10:54whereas the relevant problem
is how it creates and destroys them," -
10:54 - 10:58a constant process
of creative destruction. -
10:58 - 11:00It's happening in the economy.
-
11:00 - 11:05It's also happening in the context
of cultural life, artistic life, as well. -
11:06 - 11:11If you want to visualize it,
let's think first about technology. -
11:11 - 11:13Here's something that is disappearing:
-
11:16 - 11:18phone boxes.
-
11:18 - 11:20There are a few outside here,
-
11:20 - 11:22but they're disappearing
from Brazilian cities. -
11:22 - 11:26You cannot find them anymore
in North America, -
11:26 - 11:29or Western Europe, or Japan.
-
11:29 - 11:33The first time I noticed, I was at a hotel
I frequently go to, for conference. -
11:33 - 11:35Someone who worked at the hotel said,
-
11:35 - 11:37"Look at that wall.
Does it look different?" -
11:37 - 11:41It took me a moment.
There were no telephones on it. -
11:41 - 11:45Why? Everyone has a telephone now.
-
11:45 - 11:49They have it in their pocket,
so why should they invest in these? -
11:49 - 11:52So, here we have what's replaced it.
-
11:52 - 11:56My first mobile telephone
was the one on the end. -
11:56 - 11:59It was like talking into a giant shoe.
-
11:59 - 12:00(Laughter)
-
12:00 - 12:06It was huge and very, very expensive,
a gigantic device. -
12:06 - 12:09I had to have this put
into a special briefcase. -
12:09 - 12:13Now, they've become so tiny
you can put it in your ear. -
12:14 - 12:16This has transformed the world.
-
12:17 - 12:21Well, here's another one.
Some of you may not have ever used these. -
12:21 - 12:25When I first started writing,
I wrote with a pen on paper, -
12:25 - 12:29and then I would type them
with one of these. -
12:29 - 12:31I had an Underwood 5.
-
12:32 - 12:36Many people don't know
how to use these anymore. -
12:36 - 12:40A good friend of mine told me his son,
when he was five, came to him, and said, -
12:40 - 12:43"Daddy, there's something strange.
I want to show you." -
12:43 - 12:44He said, "What is it?"
-
12:44 - 12:47He said, "It's a computer,
but there is no screen!" -
12:47 - 12:48(Laughter)
-
12:48 - 12:50He didn't understand;
he went and looked, -
12:50 - 12:53"Oh, I see, yes. It's a typewriter."
-
12:53 - 12:56These are now found mainly in museums.
-
12:56 - 13:00I'll show you a big improvement
in my personal life: -
13:00 - 13:04my first IBM Correcting Selectric tool.
-
13:04 - 13:06It could correct your mistakes.
-
13:06 - 13:11You had to type backwards,
and it would take the type off the page. -
13:11 - 13:16You have no idea what an improvement
this was for people who type a lot. -
13:16 - 13:22And, talk about sexy,
you could change the type font, -
13:23 - 13:24the kind of letters you used.
-
13:24 - 13:26You bought these expensive little things.
-
13:26 - 13:29You had to take it out,
and put in the other one, -
13:29 - 13:32and snap it shut, and then type with it.
-
13:33 - 13:38So, that's how we got by,
but now, I have a Macbook Pro, -
13:39 - 13:43and this is better than my typewriter.
-
13:43 - 13:46Now remember, something was destroyed.
-
13:46 - 13:49There are no more typewriter factories.
-
13:49 - 13:52In every town, there were
typewriter repair shops. -
13:52 - 13:57They're all gone. I haven't seen
a typewriter repair shop in years. -
13:57 - 14:01When I was a boy, I thought I wanted
to become a typewriter repairman. -
14:01 - 14:04I thought, "You'll always have work."
-
14:04 - 14:06I'm glad I didn't choose that career path.
-
14:06 - 14:08(Laughter)
-
14:08 - 14:12I can do things with this
I couldn't do with my typewriter, -
14:12 - 14:14like watch movies.
-
14:14 - 14:17If I talked to my typewriter,
people thought I was crazy. -
14:17 - 14:20I talk to my computer all the time,
-
14:20 - 14:24and it talks back, with someone
who's in another country. -
14:25 - 14:27Now, we can look at another example.
-
14:27 - 14:32When I was a boy, I watched Star Trek
with my father on television, -
14:32 - 14:35the first Star Trek,
-
14:35 - 14:40and they had these amazing devices
called "communicators." -
14:40 - 14:45You opened it and you could
talk to one person. That's it. -
14:45 - 14:49And that's all it could do,
talk to one person. -
14:49 - 14:52I thought, "Wow! That is so cool!
-
14:52 - 14:56In the distant future,
someone will have those." -
14:56 - 14:57(Laughter)
-
14:57 - 14:59Well, I've got one,
-
14:59 - 15:03and it's a lot better than they had
in these science fiction movies, -
15:03 - 15:05flying between the stars.
-
15:05 - 15:09I can watch movies, I can play music,
pay my bills, convert currencies, -
15:09 - 15:12I read the newspapers on it,
-
15:12 - 15:15I can do all kinds of things
you could not do -
15:15 - 15:18on a Star Trek communicator.
-
15:19 - 15:22It's not just products
that are being replaced. -
15:22 - 15:25It's also ways of doing business.
-
15:25 - 15:29Imagine, 20 years ago,
having a discussion of online banking. -
15:29 - 15:32"What's that?" People would not
have understood you. -
15:32 - 15:35Live-streaming media:
-
15:36 - 15:38your grandparents
wouldn't have understood that. -
15:38 - 15:43Hub-and-spoke airlines,
which have revolutionized travel: -
15:43 - 15:47poor people can afford to fly
because of this tremendous innovation. -
15:47 - 15:49And also firms:
-
15:49 - 15:54firms are also destroyed
and created, on a constant basis. -
15:54 - 15:57Standard & Poors
measures the largest firms -
15:57 - 16:01by "market-capitalization" value
of their shares. -
16:01 - 16:05How many of those
that were in the Top 100 in 1960 -
16:05 - 16:08were still on it in 2012?
-
16:08 - 16:11Ten. Only ten.
-
16:11 - 16:18And 25% of the Top 100
had joined in just the last few years. -
16:19 - 16:22So, firms are coming and going,
-
16:22 - 16:27going out of business, being destroyed,
and being created to replace the others. -
16:27 - 16:30Now, a lot of people focus
on the destructive part -
16:30 - 16:33of creative destruction,
but how destructive is it? -
16:33 - 16:37Is it destructive on balance?
I don't think so. -
16:37 - 16:41Some value is destroyed,
but it's not pure destruction, -
16:41 - 16:44because you get something else
that adds more value. -
16:44 - 16:46That's why it replaced it.
-
16:46 - 16:50My computer is more valuable
than a big typewriter, -
16:50 - 16:55it can do a lot more, and it cost less
than I paid for my old typewriter. -
16:55 - 17:01And I'll conclude: what makes possible
value-added creative destruction? -
17:01 - 17:04And we have a pretty
good idea what that is. -
17:04 - 17:06It's entrepreneurial freedom.
-
17:06 - 17:09Now, what does entrepreneurial
freedom mean, though? -
17:09 - 17:11Something rather special.
-
17:11 - 17:14It's liberty for the unknown person;
-
17:14 - 17:20not for any known person, per se,
but for weird people, strange people, -
17:20 - 17:23who are called the English "geeks."
-
17:23 - 17:27The boys who created the computer industry
-
17:27 - 17:31were strange, socially
badly-adjusted kids. -
17:31 - 17:34They could not get any
of the girls to date them, -
17:34 - 17:38because they were obsessed with radios,
computers, and working in their garage. -
17:38 - 17:40This has changed.
-
17:41 - 17:44They all found that the girls
were more interested in dating them -
17:44 - 17:46after they became billionaires.
-
17:46 - 17:47(Laughter)
-
17:47 - 17:50Friedrich Hayek put it very neatly,
-
17:50 - 17:54"What is important is not the freedom
for what I would personally like to do, -
17:55 - 17:59but rather what freedom
some person may need -
17:59 - 18:01in order to do things
beneficial to society. -
18:01 - 18:05And this freedom we can assure
to the unknown person -
18:05 - 18:07only by giving it to everyone."
-
18:08 - 18:10Now, that is in an economic context,
-
18:10 - 18:16but it has a deep root in your society.
-
18:16 - 18:20"Freedom is disruptive
because it's about freedom for everyone," -
18:20 - 18:24as Joaquim Nabuco put it very neatly
in his book on abolitionism. -
18:24 - 18:28He says, "You should love
the freedom of other people. -
18:28 - 18:33When you love the freedom of other people,
you'll live in a great society." -
18:33 - 18:34Thank you.
-
18:34 - 18:36(Applause)
- Title:
- Globalization and the power of creative destruction | Tom Palmer | TEDxIbmec
- Description:
-
Tom Palmer talks about globalization and creative destruction.
Tom G. Palmer is a senior member of Cato Institute, and is the Director of the Cato University. Palmer is the executive vice president for international programs at the Atlas Network and is responsible for establishing operating programs in 14 languages and managing programs for a worldwide network of think tanks. Before joining Cato he was an H. B. Earhart Fellow at Hertford College, Oxford University, and a vice president of the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 18:50
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for Globalization and the power of creative destruction | Tom Palmer | TEDxIbmec | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for Globalization and the power of creative destruction | Tom Palmer | TEDxIbmec | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for Globalization and the power of creative destruction | Tom Palmer | TEDxIbmec | ||
Leonardo Silva approved English subtitles for Globalization and the power of creative destruction | Tom Palmer | TEDxIbmec | ||
Ruy Lopes Pereira accepted English subtitles for Globalization and the power of creative destruction | Tom Palmer | TEDxIbmec | ||
Ruy Lopes Pereira edited English subtitles for Globalization and the power of creative destruction | Tom Palmer | TEDxIbmec | ||
Ruy Lopes Pereira edited English subtitles for Globalization and the power of creative destruction | Tom Palmer | TEDxIbmec | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for Globalization and the power of creative destruction | Tom Palmer | TEDxIbmec |