Falling Off the Flat Earth?

Norman R. Augustine
Retired Chairman & CEO
Lockheed Martin Corporation

Global leadership has come to be accepted by many Americans as our country’s birthright. However, we would be wise to keep in mind that in the 16th century, it was Spain that was the dominant nation; in the 17th century, it was France; in the 19th century, it was England; and in the 20th century, it was America. The book hasn’t been written on the 21st century yet, but it is clear that no nation has an entitlement to the future. The United States is entering a global era in which Americans will have to compete for jobs in a global marketplace—not only with their neighbors down the street, but with highly motivated, highly capable, increasingly well-educated individuals from around the world. The change stems from what some have called “The Death of Distance.” In the last century, breakthroughs in aviation created the opportunity to move people and goods rapidly and efficiently over very great distances. In the early part of the present century, we are approaching the point where the communication, storage and processing of information are nearly free. That is, we can now move not only physical items efficiently over great distances, we can also transport information in large volumes and at little cost.

In short, there is no longer a there, there—there is now here. What does it mean for the average American that jobs throughout the food chain of employment will be just a mouse-click from candidates around the world? What does it mean—to cite one of many examples—that if you have a CT scan in a U.S. hospital it is likely to be read by a radiologist in either Bangalore or in Australia? As the Red Queen told Alice in Through the Looking Glass: “It takes all the running you can do to stay in the same place. If you want to go somewhere else, you must run twice as fast as that.” And indeed that’s where we find ourselves.

Today, it is possible that our nation’s adult generation will, for the first time in history, leave their children and grandchildren a lower sustained standard of living than they themselves enjoyed. Should that occur, it will be the consequence of a collective failure to respond to the increasingly clear signals that are emerging and indicate that we have entered a new era, a global era, an era in which Americans must compete in the marketplace not merely with each other but with highly qualified people around the planet. It will represent a change of seismic proportions with commensurate implications for America’s economic well-being, national and homeland security, health care and overall standard of living.

Is American Falling Off the Flat Earth?, National Academy Press, 2007