Module 6

Free-Trade

I am not studying economics by any means, but I personally like the idea of free-trade in America.  Free trade is a policy followed by some international markets in which countries' governments do not restrict imports from, or exports to, other countries.  It also includes offshoring.  With everything else in the world, there is a good side and a bad side to free-trade.  The bad side is that if there are no limits to what America can import or export, then it would be legal to offshore and outsource American jobs.  People become unemployed when they lose their job, and if too many people are unemployed, then America enters into a recession or even worse, a depression. But, the good side to free trade is that without restrictions, America can trade their goods with countries who will buy those goods, thus keeping Americans employed. As long as those goods stay at a low price.  Friedman argues that if America can’t supply low cost goods, at least we can supply good ideas that can be sold for a price.  Also, because technology is always advancing, the educated people in math and science will have an advantage over others who don’t have that background.  Basically the whole world is competing against each other and the smartest people will come out on top.  

The New-Middlers

Even though much of technology is outsourcing or overtaking middle class jobs, not all middle class jobs will be outsourced. Middle class jobs that require a physical body presence cannot be replaced, even by the smartest computer. Also, jobs that require very specific knowledge or specialization won’t be put onto the chopping block.  But Friedman argues that middle class jobs are evolving.  The new middle class jobs that will exist in the flat future will require something different from the past.  Friedman calls the new middle class workers “the new middlers” (Friedman 285).  So what skills would new middlers need to have in order to survive in the future?  Friedman describes seven characteristics that could save the middle class.  They will need to be good leaders.  They will need to collaborate and orchestrate well with other others; they’ll need to synthesize and be good at explaining different concepts, and be good adaptors as well. Going green will also be a benefit for them, since the new flat world will be extremely detrimental when everyone is trying to get at the earth’s resources.  In addition to those characteristics, the new middlers should be curious and have a passion for whatever motivates them to learn.

CQ + PQ > IQ

What does CQ + PQ > IQ mean?  Basically Friedman says that it is more important for a person to have curiosity and passion than to be intelligent.  Don’t get me wrong, it is good to be smart, but it is even better to be curious and passionate.  Don’t we all learn more and pay more attention to subjects that we actually like to learn about?  When we have an interest it motivates us to dig deeper.  To learn something on a deeper level, there has to be motivation.  For me, I fall asleep in chemistry, but I’m more eager to learn about psychology and math.  Since I already have an interest in them, I can then build off of that and learn more than a person who isn’t interested at all.  This is true for everyone and it is a good thing because everyone has different interests.  It is also very important that people learn whenever and wherever they can.  The classroom is not the only place to learn something new, it is just a very formal way to educate a large group of people. Learning can come from any source, including the internet.  Especially now that there is so much information to be found on the web, people can self-educate themselves  about a variety of different topics.  Granted, information on the internet can be untruthful.   And the reader needs to read with caution, but the internet is still a good resource for learning.