Chapter 33 Chapter Fourteen November 9th and September 11th

Imagination is more important than knowledge. --Albert Einstein On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog. —Two dogs chatting in the cartoon "The New Yorker" by Peter Steiner. July 5, 1993 Looking back over the past 15 years, the world has flattened and our lives have been deeply shaped by two dates: November 9th and September 11th.Today, the two dates represent two competing imaginations: "11.9" Represents the creative imagination, while "9.11" represents the destructive imagination. "11.9" knocked down the wall and opened the window to the world.It opens up half the world to make its people our collaborators and competitors. "9.11" blew up the World Trade Center, closed the windows on the World Hotel forever, and rebuilt an invisible high wall between people - we used to think that since November 9, 1989, Such a high wall will disappear forever.

The demolition of the Berlin Wall on November 9th was done by people who dared to imagine a different, more open world.In such a world, everyone is free to realize their potential, and everyone can find the courage to do what they want to do.Do you remember how this process happened?It's actually quite simple: In July 1989, hundreds of East Germans sought refuge in front of the West German embassy in Hungary. In September 1989, Hungary decided to lift its border restrictions with Austria, which meant that any East German entering neighboring Hungary could pass through Austria to the free world.Sure enough, more than 13,000 East Germans fled to Hungary.The East German government felt great pressure.

Tens of thousands of East Germans gathered around the Berlin Wall when the East German government announced plans to ease travel restrictions. On November 9, 1989, in the face of a loud, cheering crowd, border guards had to open the gates. At that time, in Hungary, someone, maybe the prime minister, maybe just an official, must have first thought: "Imagine if we opened the border with Austria, if the East Germans were encouraged by seeing their neighbors fleeing to the West." , gather around the Berlin Wall, and then push it down, what are the consequences?" Someone must have had the above conversation, because only if they had such a conversation could millions of Eastern Europeans come out from behind the Iron Curtain and join the flat world.It is a blessing to be an American in such a great time.

We are the only superpower in the world, and the world is our oyster.Young Americans can consider traveling for a semester or a summer to more countries than any generation of Americans before you.You can go as far as you want, as long as you have enough money.They can also go to the homes of their classmates. Your classmates will come from different countries and different cultures, and there will be more classmates than in previous classes. Of course, September 11th changed everything.What it shows us is an entirely different kind of imagination, showing us the power of a bunch of hateful people.These guys spend years figuring out how to kill as many innocent people as possible.Sometime, Ben.Bin Laden and his cohorts must have looked at each other and said, "Imagine if we could hit the right spot for the two towers of the World Trade Center—between the 94th and 98th floors; Will it collapse like a house of cards." Yes, unfortunately, some people in this world did have the above conversation, and our once open and colorful world became closed.

The quality of imagination has always been important, but writing this book makes me feel that it has never been as important as it is today.Because in a flat world, many collaboration tools are increasingly becoming common commodities available to everyone.Therefore, more people have the ability to create what they want. However, the only thing that hasn't been, and can never be, commoditized is imagination—something that some people dream of possessing. While we live in a more centralized, more vertically regulated world, where the state can monopolize all power, under the autocratic rule of the leader, the individual's imagination will only get him in trouble.But today, individuals have easy access to the tools of cooperation and capabilities, and they don't have to take control of a state to threaten other populations.Today, small people without state tools can still do great things and pose a serious threat to the world order.

Therefore, how to guide people's active imagination is extremely important.Like Erwin, a computer scientist at IBM.Voladarski.What Berger said is that we need to think more seriously than usual about how we encourage people to make things of value that advance civilization.This peaceful imagination removes alienation and encourages interdependence, tolerance, openness and hope rather than autarky, exclusion, limitation, doubt and dissatisfaction. Let me illustrate this with an example. In early 1999, two people were starting their own aviation businesses from scratch within a few weeks of each other.Both dreamed of owning their own aircraft and mastering related skills.One is David.Neeleman.He launched JetBlue Airways in February 1999, raised $130 million in venture capital, bought a fleet of A320 jetliners, recruited pilots, and signed them to seven-year contracts.Neeleman then outsourced the company's airline reservation system to housewives and retirees living near Salt Lake City, Utah, who used their home computers to book passengers.

The other person is Ben, whom we know from the report of the 9/11 Commission of Inquiry.Osama bin Laden. In March or April 1999, at a meeting in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Ben.Bin Laden accepted the "9.11" The mastermind of the terrorist attack was Khalid, a Pakistani-born mechanical engineer.Sheikh.A proposal drafted by Muhammad.JetBlue's motto is: different attitudes, same altitude.Al Qaeda's motto is "Allah is great".The destination of both routes is New York.Neeleman's destination was JFK International Airport, Ben.Bin Laden's purpose is to lower the height of Manhattan.

Maybe it's because I read the "9.11" report on the way to Silicon Valley, and I had a crush on Khaled, a young mechanical engineer.Sheikh.Muhammad was intrigued because he had a degree from North Carolina Agro-Technology State University, and his idea hit Ben, a wealthy venture capitalist.Osama bin Laden.Until then, Muhammad had been looking for someone willing to invest in his venture.As the "9.11" incident investigation committee report pointed out, Khaled.Sheikh.Muhammad is the main planner of the "9.11" terrorist attacks, he received a higher education, sitting in the same comfortable terrorist hideout as the government office, Khaled.Sheikh.

Muhammad combined his imagination, technology and management skills to devise a series of horrific terrorist attack plans. These plans include conventional car bombing, political assassination, aerial bombing, hijacking, poisoning of reservoirs, and suicide attacks by turning aircraft into missiles.Khalid.Sheikh.Mohammad describes himself as an entrepreneur, looking everywhere for capital and volunteers. March or April 1999, Ben.Bin Laden took Khalid.Sheikh. Mohammad summoned him to Kandahar and told him that Al Qaeda was willing to support his proposal.This proposal was later Al Qaeda's "hijacking a passenger plane and crashing into the World Trade Center".

From this.According to bin Laden's cooperation headquarters in Afghanistan, he is an excellent supply chain operator.He formed a virtual corporation for this terrorist attack plan, just like any global multinational consortium would do in a flat world.He outsourced the overall design of the "9.11" terrorist attack to Khaled.Sheikh. Mohammed, outsourced all financial management to Khaled.Sheikh.Muhammad's nephew Ali.Abdul.Aziz.Ali, who was responsible for transferring funds from foreign bank accounts to the hijackers via wire transfers, cash, travelers cheques, credit cards, and debit cards.Book.Bin Laden was responsible for recruiting burly hijackers from Saudi Arabia's Asir province, pilots from Europe, operational leaders from Hamburg, and logistical support personnel from Pakistan, based on Al Qaeda lists.He also outsourced the training of pilots to flight schools in the United States.Finally, Ben.Bin Laden only needs to rent Boeing 757, 767, A-320 or 747 passenger planes for terrorist operations, and raise the necessary funds from his Al Qaeda Islamic charity group and other venture capitalists who are ready to fund anti-American operations to train these different aircraft. type of driver.In the "9.11" plan, the funds used were about 400,000 US dollars.Once the action team is assembled, Ben.Bin Laden then concentrated on his core competencies—overall leadership of his suicide supply chain and ideological agitation.In this he got his surrogate Muhammad.Atef and Ayman.al-Zawahiri for help.

In December 2001, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia filed an indictment against the 19th hijacker in the "9.11" incident. You only need to glance at one item of the indictment to clearly find Ben.How bin Laden's supply chain armed his al-Qaeda with various high-tech.The indictment states: "About June 1999, during an interview with an Arabic-language TV station, bin Laden issued a threat: All men in the United States should be killed." Then, the report pointed out that in 2000 In 2000, all the hijackers, including Mousavi, were either inquiring about or already enrolled in a flight school course in the United States: "On or about September 29, 2000, Zakaria. Mousavi used an Internet service in Malaysia to provide The pilot training school in Norman, Oklahoma was contacted through an email account provided by the business operator. Around October 2000, Zakaria. Mousavi received a letter from the Malaysian company Infocus Tech stating that Mousavi Having been appointed by Infocus Tech as the company's market advisor in the US, UK and Europe, and among other perks, Mousavi will receive a stipend of $2,500 per month on or about December 11, Mohammad. Atta from Ohio The flight equipment store in the United States purchased a cockpit video simulation system that can be used to train Boeing 767-300ER and Airbus A320-200, circa June 2001, Zakaria. Mousavi in ​​Oklahoma Norman of the 1990s consulted on starting a pesticide spraying company. August 16, Zakaria.Mousavi purchased two knives, a pair of binoculars, a flight manual for a Boeing 747-400 airliner, a computer program to simulate flight, fighting gloves and shin guards, instructions for a handheld GPS receiver, and a video camera , software that can review the flight procedures of Boeing 747-400 airliners, a letter of introduction proving that Mousavi is Infocus Tech's marketing consultant in the United States, a computer CD-ROM containing aerial spraying information, and a handheld aviation radio... "David Neeleman, on the contrary, is a devout Mormon who grew up in Latin America. His father was a reporter for United Press International. Neeleman is the typical American entrepreneur, a man of integrity. He never Went to college, but successfully started two airlines: Morris Air and JetBlue Airways, and is making a big effort to build a third company, Southwest Airlines. He is the founder of the ticketless flight, the so-called Ticket flight is what is called electronic ticket now." I am an optimist, and my father is also an optimist," he tried to tell me the source of his optimistic gene, "I grew up living in a very happy family..." The idea of ​​creating JetBlue Airways was in my mind long before it was written on paper. Since Neeleman had no historical burdens, it was incredible to use his optimistic imagination and his ability to quickly adopt all the advanced technologies and create a profitable route from the ground up.This route has created jobs, pioneered low-cost travel, provided a unique in-flight satellite entertainment system, and created a joyful and peaceful ride atmosphere that you can't imagine.He also set up a disaster relief fund for company employees, so that when employees encounter risks such as death and serious illness, their families can receive financial compensation.For every dollar that any employee puts into the fund, Neeleman contributes a dollar to the fund. "I think it's important for everyone to contribute," Neeleman said. "I believe that when you give to someone else, you have fun." Lerman was already so wealthy that he donated $120,000 of his $200,000 income to a disaster fund. In the reception room outside his New York office is a colorful photo of a JetBlue Airbus flying over the World Trade Center.When 9/11 happened, Neeleman was in his office, watching the twin towers burn while the JetBlue flight was circling JFK, waiting to land.When I tell him, I'll put him and Ben.When bin Laden made the comparison, he seemed a little anxious. When I finished the interview, turned off my computer, and was about to leave, he said to me that he wanted to ask me a question: "Do you think bin Laden really believed in a God in heaven and that God would like what he did?" I told him I didn't know either.What I do know is this: There are two ways to flatten the world, one is to use your imagination to raise everyone to the same height, and the other is to use your imagination to bring everyone down to the same level.David.Neeleman used his optimistic imagination and the effective technology offered by the flat world to improve people's living standards.He established successful new airlines and returned the profits from the business to a disaster fund set up by his employees.Book.Bin Laden and his protégés used their imagination and many of the same techniques to carry out terrorist attacks that leveled two giant symbols of American power.Worse, they raise funds and create disasters under the guise of religion. "In the initial wave of globalization, two variants emerged," said Nandan, CEO of Infosys. "One is Al Qaeda, one is a company like Infosys or JetBlue Airways," Nilekani said. Therefore, our main job is how to encourage more good variants and prevent bad variants from being produced. "I couldn't agree more with that conclusion. This kind of effort is the most important thing we can do to keep this planet stable and prosperous. I have no doubt that advances in technology—from iris scanners to X-ray machines—will help us identify, expose, and capture those who use readily available tools to destroy the flat world.But technology alone cannot keep us safe.We really need to find ways to influence the imaginations of those with bad intentions.But how do we cultivate in the minds of others an imagination that is full of hope for the future, cherishes life, and is tolerant?Everyone should ask themselves this question.I bring this up as an American, and I emphasize this because I think Americans should lead by example in this regard.We are to be the best global citizens we can be, we cannot shy away from the world, we must manipulate our imaginations, not let our imaginations control us. It is always difficult for us to distinguish whether we are taking necessary security measures or whether we have let our imagination control us and scare ourselves.After 9/11, I once claimed that the reason we didn't see through the September 11 terrorist plot in advance was because of a problem with our imagination.In the field of intelligence, we can't imagine anything like Ben.Bin Laden and Khalid.Sheikh.The sinister plan conceived by Muhammad.We also have people with bad imaginations in the intelligence field, but we do it as a precautionary measure, not to act on that idea.We don’t have to be alarmed by imagining those around us with the worst malice, and be left terrified, filled with fear instead of hope.Otherwise, there is no trust between people at all. In 2003, my daughter Ollie competed in her high school orchestra.They spent a year practicing their instruments in preparation for the National High School Orchestra Competition in New Orleans that March. When March rolled around and the United States was about to send troops to fight in Iraq, the Montgomery County School Board canceled all group travel, including a planned game in New Orleans, because of fears of terrorism. I think this kind of thinking is downright dumb and stupid, even terrorists' evil imaginations have their limits. Could it be Al Qaeda leader Osama.Book.Bin Laden and Ayman.Is al-Zawahiri really sitting in a cave in Afghanistan contemplating sabotaging a high school orchestra competition?For example, Ayman asked Osama: "I said bin Laden, do you remember the annual high school orchestra competition in New Orleans? It starts again next week. Let's find a way to give it an attack and shake the world! "No, I wouldn't think so. Let's get out of bin Laden's cave. We have to be masters of our own imagination, not prisoners. I have a friend in Beirut who used to joke that, based on security Reason, whenever she flies, she always carries a bomb in her suitcase, because the odds of two people carrying a bomb on the same plane are so slim. No matter what, the door always has to go out. Having said that, let me tell you a story that touched me the most during the "9.11" incident. This story comes from the "Unfortunate People" series of biographies in the "New York Times". died in the incident.It's about Candace, a 21-year-old girl.plum.The story of Williams, a business major at Northeastern University. From January to June 2001, she worked as an intern at Merrill Lynch's offices on the 14th floor of the World Trade Center.In the eyes of her mother and colleagues, Candace is a dynamic and enterprising girl.She really enjoyed her internship.Candace's colleagues also liked her very much. On the last day of her internship, they invited her to dinner and sent her to a large limousine back to school.Then the company wrote to Northeastern University saying, "I hope you can introduce us to a few more interns like Candace." A few weeks after the midterms, she decided to return home to California to meet her partner.Not long ago, Candace was included in the list of outstanding students.Her mother Schelling told the New York Times: "Her friends rented a convertible car and planned to celebrate her. Candace also hoped to get a photo next to the Hollywood sign." On September 11, 2001, at 8:02 in the morning, Candace's American Airlines passenger plane Flight 11 took off from Boston Logan Airport.Unfortunately, the plane was hijacked by 5 people at 08:14, including Muhammad who was sitting in position 8D.Atta.Under the control of Atta, the Boeing 767-223ER airliner turned around and flew to Manhattan, taking Candace with it.plum.Williams crashed into the World Trade Center building where she had worked as an intern. Airline records show that Candace was seated next to an 80-year-old grandmother, two people facing death at the same time: one full of memories, the other full of dreams. Be Candace.plum.When Williams was on Flight 11, she never imagined that the plane would end up this way. But after the "9.11" incident, when we took the plane, we must think whether it is safe, and what happened to Candace will not fall on me, right?We are now fully aware of how easily a human life can be obliterated by the arbitrary will of a madman in a cave in Afghanistan.But the truth is, even today, the chances of your plane being hijacked by terrorists are much less than the chances of dying from hitting a deer with your car or being struck by lightning.So, even though we thought about all the things that could happen during the flight, we still fly. Because if you're not flying, you're trapping yourself in a cave.Imagination is not rumination, it requires new content.From Candace.plum.In the biography of Williams, we can see that she is an optimistic girl.Dare I say, if she could live again, she would still be flying.All of us should. The United States has been a country that looks forward, not backward, from the beginning.After the "9.11" incident, the United States under the leadership of the Bush administration changed from exporting hope to exporting fear, which is an extremely dangerous change. We went from trying to maintain good world order to constantly jumping out and shouting.When you start exporting fear, you have no way of knowing other people's fear.Yes, we need people to be able to think the worst, because 9/11 Events happen, and may happen again; but, as I have said before, there is a fine line between vigilance and paranoia, and too often we get the two mixed up.People in Europe or elsewhere often like to make fun of Americans for their optimism and innocence, because we think that people in other countries are actually very envious of American optimism and innocence.The world needs American optimism because it is an important factor in keeping the world spinning on its axis. If we become pessimistic with society, if we stop being the "dream factory" of the world, then we will make the world not only darker, but poorer. Analysts always like to measure a society's progress in terms of classic economic and social statistics: deficit-to-GDP ratio, unemployment rate, adult female literacy rate.These statistics are important and provide a glimpse into the problem.But there's another statistic that's hard to measure, and which I think shows a more important question: Do you live in a society with more memories than dreams, or more dreams than memories? By dream, I mean the kind of active, life-loving pursuit.Business Organization Consultant Michael.Hammer once said: "Once the people in a company tell me how good their business has been in the past, I know it's not doing well. The same judgment applies to countries. You don't want to forget the glory of the past. Yes, I'm glad to see your greatness in the 14th century. But that was the past, and we live in the present. When the memory exceeds the dream, it means the end. Really The mark of the most successful man is to throw away what made him successful and start all over again." If a society has more memories than dreams, there will be many people in this society who spend a lot of time looking backwards.They gain dignity, affirmation, and self-esteem not through current endeavors but through reflection on the past.Even often, it is not a real past, but an imagined, embellished history.All the energies of such societies are spent imagining their past to be more beautiful than it really is, and then dwelling on it, instead of imagining a better future and fighting for it.It will be very dangerous when some countries go this route; it will be a disaster if the United States loses its tolerance and goes in this direction.I have a friend named David.Roscoff, a former Commerce Department official who now works at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.I think he analyzed the above questions best when he said: "The answers we want are not in terms of what has changed, but in recognizing what hasn't changed, so that we can focus on the key issues." . An effective multilateral commitment to the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; enabling the world's poor to benefit from globalization; reforming the Arab People voluntarily agree with our values, so as to gain broad support in the world. We should remember that those values ​​​​are the true foundation and source of our security and strength. At the same time, we must realize that the enemy can never defeat us. But if we Throw away the rules of the game we've followed for so long, and we might beat ourselves." I firmly believe that history will prove one thing: President Bush shamelessly used "9.11" to achieve political goals The sentiment aroused by the incident has successfully implemented the far-right Republicans' domestic agenda, including taxation, environmental and social issues.The agenda was unpopular on September 10th, but not on September 12th.In doing so, Bush created a divide not only among the American people, between the American people and the world, but between America and its history and identity.The Bush administration has turned America into an "America on Terrorism."In my opinion, this is the real reason why so many people in the world hate President Bush so much.They feel that Bush has taken from them something very precious - an America that exports hope, not fear. We need our President to right the calendar for September 11th, which is just the day between September 10th and September 12th.We must not use this day as a shackle to limit ourselves, because September 11th is ultimately about the bad guys, not us. We should be represented by the 4th of July; we should be represented by the 9th of November. Aside from trying to keep our imaginations alive, what can we as Americans and the global community do in trying to cultivate the imaginations of others?Maintaining a humble attitude is a good way to deal with this problem.What causes one person to destroy and another to create?What causes one person to imagine "11.9" and another person to imagine "9.11"?This is the greatest secret of contemporary life.While most of us probably know how to raise children with more imaginative abilities, perhaps it is presumptuous for us to think that we can help others with this problem, especially with people from different cultures, speaking different Language, spoken by people living in another hemisphere.But the serious threat posed by the September 11 terrorist attacks demonstrates the dangers of not considering these issues.But when it comes to this issue, like everyone else, I have some doubts. In general, imagination is the product of two shaping forces.One is the sociocultural context in which people exist—that is, the teachings that their religious and national leaders tell them—and how those teachings shape people's imaginations.Another is the social environment in which people grow up, which has a huge impact on shaping how people see the world and others.An outsider's understanding of the socio-cultural connotations of Mexico, Arabia, or China is by no means as good as they are of the American socio-cultural connotations.Only they can interpret their own cultural connotations, and endow them with more tolerance and foresight, making them more adaptable to modern society.No one can replace them, not even together.But people can find ways to cooperate with others to change the environment in which they grow up and live, so as to help more people cultivate "11.9" It is not the imagination of "9.11". I will illustrate this problem with a few examples below. eBay Meg, CEO of eBay.Whitman once told me a story: "In September 1998, when the Internet economy was at its most prosperous, eBay went public. Between September and October, our stock could rise 80 points or fall 50 points in a day. ...I thought, this is not normal. One day, I was going about my business in the cubicle, and my secretary came up and said: "Meg, Arthur, the chairman of the Securities Commission.Levitt called you. '"The Securities and Exchange Commission was in charge of regulating the stock market, and he was always looking at the vagaries in the stock market and investigating whether there was backroom trading behind it. In those days, as a CEO, hear" Arthur.Levitt calling you", not a good sign. Whitman said: "So I called my lawyer, and the lawyer came over from his cubicle, pale as a sheet of paper. We took Leavitt's call at the same time and connected his voice to the amplifier. On the speaker horn, I said, "Hi, I'm Meg from eBay.Whitman. ’ Then he said, “Hello, I’m Arthur Leavitt of the SEC. I don’t know you, I haven’t met you, but I know your company just went public and I want to know: How is your stock doing? Is the service attitude of our securities management committee good? ' I breathed a sigh of relief and went on to talk about it.Then Leavitt said to me, "Actually, the other reason I called you was because I got my 10th positive feedback from eBay and got a yellow star, so I'm very proud.' He said:" I'm a post-1929 depression glass collector, so I buy and sell these on eBay and get feedback accordingly.I thought you might like to hear that too. '"Every eBay user has a feedback column, which contains other eBay users' evaluations of you. Smooth. All feedback constitutes eBay's determination of your reputation. For every positive feedback, you can get +1 points, 0 points represent neutral evaluations, and -1 points represent negative feedback. When you get +10 points or more, You will get a colored star. My name on eBay is TOMF, and the points are 50 points, and there is a blue star, which means, I have got positive feedback from 50 other eBay users. Next to the icon It is a box that shows the percentage of positive feedback to all feedback, so you can know the reputation of the seller, and you can also check all the evaluations of others. Whitman said: "Everyone, including Arthur Leavitt, the doorman, the waitress, the doctor or the professor needs and desires positive comments from others. Some people may think that those numbers must represent money. In fact, they can It's just a very common sense of recognition, like telling someone 'you've done a great job, you've done a great job.' Users commented on our rating system saying: 'When you wake up in the morning, You will see so many people like you, something like this can only happen on eBay! "'"What's even more exciting," says Whitman, "is that the vast majority of feedback on eBay has been positive.This is very interesting.Normally, people don't write letters complimenting Wal-Mart executives for a good deal.But when you belong to a community, when you have interests in it, it's a completely different thing.What you do is risky.The highest of all our users has received more than 250,000 positive feedbacks.You can view the entire history of every buyer and seller, and we also provide the ability to defend yourself... No one can log into eBay anonymously. If you don't want to reveal your real name, you can create an alias. These have quickly become the norms of this community... We are not operating a trading market, we are operating a society. "Indeed, eBay has 105 million users from 190 countries, with an annual transaction volume of more than 35 billion US dollars. In fact, it is already an autonomous "country" - VRe is eBay's virtual republic. How to govern this country? "With eBay's philosophy," Whitman said, "we make a small set of rules that everyone must abide by. Then we create an environment where people are allowed to reach their full potential. There's something more Profound thought.” Even taking into account the factors of commercial propaganda, Whitman’s thought is still worth pondering: “People will say, eBay restored my trust in humanity,’—this is the same as the real world between people. In stark contrast to the intrigues and arbitrariness. We can hear comments like this in two weeks...eBay provides the opportunity for the little people with no power to compete on an equal playing field.We also have a certain percentage of disabled and minor users, because at eBay, no one knows who you are.You represent your product, and you are equal to other people's evaluation of you. "' Whitman recalls that one day she received an e-mail from a couple in Orlando who were going to an event titled "Life at eBay," at which Whitman would be speaking. . This kind of event is an important meeting that eBay participants often engage in.这对夫妇问惠特曼，在她演讲结束以后，他们是否能够在后台与她见面。 “所以在我作完讲话以后，”惠特曼说，他们来到了我的休息室，除了爸爸、妈妈，还有一个坐在轮椅上的17岁男孩，他因为患脑瘫而成为残疾人，行动非常不便。这位母亲告诉我：“凯尔残疾程度太高了，所以不能上学，但他在eBay上经营着一个商行，去年我和丈夫辞去了工作，全力帮助他。我们现在通过eBay挣到的收入比以前工作时的收入还要多。”接着，他们又说了一件最令人感慨万分的话：“在eBay上，凯尔不是残疾人。” 惠特曼还告诉我在另一次“eBay生活”的活动中，一个年轻人是eBay上生意非常好的卖主，他告诉惠特曼，多亏他在eBay上的商行，他现在已经买了房子、汽车，雇用了工人，自己当上了老板。但最重要的是，这个年轻人随后说道：“我一提到eBay就非常激动，因为我没有大学毕业，为此多少受到了家庭的冷落。 但现在，我是家里最成功的人。我是一个成功的企业家。 " 惠特曼总结道：“正是因为能够给人们提供机会以及它的评价制度，才使eBay有了旺盛的生命力。因为有负面评价的压力，所以人们都尽可能地做一个好的合伙人。” 记住：eBay不仅仅创造了一个在线市场，它还创造了一个自治社会、一个社会环境。在这里，任何人，不管是严重残疾者，还是美国证券管理委员会的主席，都可以来到这里，发挥自己的潜力，做一个让社会信赖的人。那种尊重与认可是消除屈辱感、活的尊严的最好的、最有效的方式。在这层意义上，西方可以与东方合作，创造出相似的社会环境；在那里，年轻人可以在平等的条件下发挥自己的能量，通过自己的成就，而不是殉教得到这个世界的认可和尊重。我们可以帮助更多梦想多于回忆的年轻人。 印度如果你想看看同一个道理在现实世界中的例子，我建议你研究一下世界上第二大穆斯林国家。世界上第一大穆斯林国家是印度尼西亚。第二大穆斯林国家既不是沙特阿拉伯、伊朗、埃及，也不是巴基斯坦，而是有着1.5 亿穆斯林的印度。 印度的民主制度并不完善，然而在一个拥有10亿人口，使用几十种不同语言的国家，这种带着缺陷的民主制支撑了50多年，不能不说是一个奇迹，这已经对世界稳定做出了巨大贡献。前印度总统中，有两个是穆斯林，现任总统APJ阿卜杜勒。卡拉姆，既是穆斯林也是印度核导弹之父。（当一个穆斯林妇女坐在印度最高法院里时，沙特阿拉伯还在禁止穆斯林妇女开车。）印度穆斯林，包括妇女，已经成为印度很多省的管理人员。今天，位于《福布斯》全球亿万富翁名单前列的印度最富有的人，是Wipro 公司的董事长阿齐姆。普莱姆基。2001年，美国入侵阿富汗后不久，我来到印度。当时印度的电视中正在播放一场辩论，一方是印度最有名的女影星——女性穆斯林、国会议员莎芭娜。阿诗米，另一方是新德里最大清真寺的伊斯兰教教长。 她生活在允许她讲出心中的想法的社会环境里。 不同的社会环境，不同的文化背景，不同的想象力。 做到这些并不复杂：给年轻人一个社会环境，在那里他们可以使自己美好的想法变成现实；给他们一个社会环境，在那里，如果你对别人不满，双方可以由法院根据法律裁决，并且不需要用山羊贿赂法官；给他们一个社会环境，在那里，他们可以追逐自己的创新思想，成为自己国家里最富有的人、最有创意的人或最受尊重的人，不管他们是什么背景；给他们一个社会环境，在那里，任何牢骚和主张都可以见诸报端；给他们一个社会环境，在那里，任何人可以竞选公职。猜猜这样做的结果会怎样？他们不会去想着炸掉整个世界，他们会希望成为这个社会的一员。 当你拥有成长的机会时，你会把精力放在对梦想的追求中。当你无路可走时，你会把精力放在愤怒上，放在对辉煌的历史的。 20多年前，印度在别人眼里的形象是耍蛇者、贫民和特里萨修女。今天，她的面貌已经焕然一新，如今人们看到印度到处都是聪明才俊和计算机奇才。外包咨询公司NeoIT 的首席执行官阿图。瓦虚塔经常出现在美国的媒体上，为外包辩护。他告诉我这个故事：“一天，我的惠普打印机出了毛病，打印速度非常慢。 我打算修理这台打印机。所以给惠普的技术支持部打电话。电话里面的人接听后，记下了我全部个人信息。他来到我家修理打印机。听他的口音，一定是印度某地的人。所以我开始问他是哪里人，那儿的天气怎样。我们聊得很投机。10~15 分钟后，打印机修好了。他对我说：“先生，我有些话要说，不知道你是否介意？ '我说：“没问题。'我猜想他可能要告诉我以后要注意使用电脑过程中的某些错误操作。然而，他说：”我在'美国之音'里听到过您的节目，今天亲眼见到你，我很高兴。您的讲话非常好。'“我刚刚在”美国之音“的一个节目中谈论了关于反全球化和反外包运动的问题。我是被邀请的三个嘉宾之一——一个工会职员，一个经济学家和我。我当时为全球化辩护，这个修理工听到了我的讲话。 记住：在平坦的世界，你不能仅仅看到自己的耻辱，还要看到自己的骄傲。 印度的热线电话接线员突然认识到他的同胞是在平坦的世界上能实时地跨越半个世界的距离代表印度了，这使他感觉很好。 “革命后的法国、独立战争后的美国、印度的民主制度甚至eBay，都是建立在社会契约的基础之上。在这样的契约下，国家权力来自社会底层，人们能够感觉到有能力改变自己的命运。处于这种社会环境中，人们会花时间思考下一步该做什么而不是下一个该指责的对象是谁。” 来自石油的诅咒在委内瑞拉、尼日利亚、沙特阿拉伯和伊朗等地区，之所以不能建立起民主的社会环境，最主要的原因是受到了来自石油的诅咒。只要阿拉伯国家的国王和独裁者能够通过钻探油井发财，他们就会靠山吃山。他们可以使用石油资金控制所有的专政工具——军队、警察和情报机构，永远不会与人民分享权力或增加治理国家的透明度。 他们必须做的只不过是仅仅控制住石油管道。由于统治者不用向人民征税，所以国家治理者与被治理者之间的关系是极度扭曲的。没有课税，人民就不能行使参政的权利。 统治者用不着关心人们的生活，不必向人民解释国家的钱都花在了哪些地方，因为钱并非是靠收税得到的。这就是为什么依靠石油发财的国家通常没有完善的法规、制度，而依靠开发人民才智发展的国家则拥有健全的政府机构、对财产权的承认、各种法规、独立的法院、现代教育、对外贸易、外国投资、思想自由和科学探索。发展经济学家南希。伯索尔和阿文德。萨勃拉曼尼亚在其发表在《外交》杂志（2004年7~8 月号） 上的一篇文章中指出：“34个发展中国家都自豪地宣称发现了重要的石油和天然气储备，并且这些资源的出口收入至少占其总出口收入的30% . 尽管他们获得了财富，然而，其中12个国家的年人均收入仍然低于1500美元……而且，这些国家中有2/3 没有实行民主制。即使是实行民主制的国家，也只有3 个进入到了'自由之家'评选的'政治自由度'排名的前列。” 换句话说，想象力的产生是需要条件的，当你生活的环境不允许你产生逃避或激进的幻想时，你就不会产生想象力。今天海湾国家里，最有创意的革新出现在没有石油或石油储备很少的地方。巴林是阿拉伯国家里第一个发现石油的海湾国家，也是第一个耗尽石油储备的国家。现在，在阿拉伯海湾国家中，巴林已成为第一个为提高工人技能而致力于广泛的劳动改革的国家，举行了海湾地区第一次自由公平的选举的国家，女性同样拥有了竞选和投票的权利。哪些国家在改革上无所作为甚至倒退？被石油资本冲昏头脑的沙特阿拉伯和伊朗。2004年12月1日，当原油价格高涨到接近每桶50美元时，经济学家在伊朗做了一项专题报告，其中指出：“如果没有暴涨的油价，伊朗的经济将一塌糊涂。石油产品为政府提供了一半的财政收入、80%的出口收入。 但是，在议会中狂热分子的影响下，聚集起来的石油财富再一次花费在浪费严重的津贴上，而不是急需的经济发展和新科技开发上。“自1989年以来，约旦开始升级它的教育体系，推进私有化，加速现代化，解除对经济的管制，当时正是石油价格下降的时候。1999年，约旦与美国签订了自由贸易协定，其对美贸易出口额为1300万美元。到2004年，约旦向美国出口商品价值超过10亿美元，这些商品都是约旦人用自己的双手制造的。约旦政府为每个学校配置了电脑和宽带因特网。2004年，他宣布改革清真寺祈祷主持的教育资格。 过去，约旦的高中生要参加大学入学考试。考试成绩最好的学生将来可以当医生和工程师，成绩最差的学生将成为清真寺祈祷主持。约旦决定分阶段地推行新的教育体系，即以后要想成为清真寺祈祷主持的年轻人必须首先拿到其他某个专业的学士学位，然后得到伊斯兰教法的研究生学位。通过这种做法，鼓励更多有才能的年轻人担当神职人员。 这是社会环境的一个重要变化，人们期待改革将带来的深远影响。在这个背景下，年轻的约旦人会在他们的清真寺里接受培养。“我们必须经历危机才会接受改革，”约旦计划大臣巴希姆。阿瓦达拉说。 油价下跌迫使这个地区的领导人改变他们的社会环境。如果没有外来压力，任何人自己不会有变革的动力。或者如同约翰。霍普金斯大学外交事务教授迈克尔。曼德尔博姆所说的：“当你告诉人们有更好的选择时，他们是不会改变的。 只有当自己意识到没有更好的办法时，他们才会被迫变革。“如果石油价格跌到10美元一桶，我就可以预言，从莫斯科、利雅德再到伊朗都会出现政治与经济上的改革。因此，如果美国与其联盟国家不齐心合力压低原油价格，那么，这些地区改革的渴望只能是”胎死腹中“。 同时，还要考虑另外一个因素。当你不是靠在你自己的土地上挖油井，而是不得不用双手生产商品，通过贸易来实现繁荣时，想象力必将拓宽，宽容与信任也会增加。 这足以说明，为什么占世界人口20% 的伊斯兰国家所创造的贸易总额只占世界贸易总额的4%. 当一个国家提供的产品不受别人欢迎时，贸易额就会下降。贸易减少意味着思想交流的减少和自我封闭的增强。当人们与世界相连，接触不同的文化与观点时，就容易产生“11.9”那样的想象力；当人们感觉与世隔绝时，他们的自由和满足只是乌托邦式的幻想，这时就容易萌发“9.11”式的想象力。 一个好例子IMF 前常务副董事斯坦利。费舍尔曾经对我说：“一个好的例子胜过一千个理论。” 我觉得这话说得对。的确，除非迫不得已，人们不会主动改变自己。此外，当他们看到和自己差不多的别人通过变革而繁荣时，也会主动改变自己。迈克尔。 曼德尔伯姆也指出：“刺激人们作出行为改变的根源是他们看到的，而不是听到的。”我在前面曾指出，阿拉伯世界里只有一个公司成长为世界级的企业，并获得了在纳斯达克股票交易市场上市的资格，这就是Aramex .每个约旦人、每一个阿拉伯人都应该知道Aramex的故事，并应该为此感到骄傲，就像美国人为苹果公司、微软公司和戴尔公司感到骄傲一样。Aramex就是比一千个道理都有说服力的真实例子。它就是自我奋斗的阿拉伯公司的楷模，充满着阿拉伯人的企业家精神，踏上世界舞台台阶的同时也给自己的员工带来了福利。 2005年，当法迪。甘杜尔的Aramex在迪拜再次上市后，来自阿拉伯世界，拥有Aramex公司股票认股权的400 多名雇员分享了1400万美元的红利。我永远也不会忘记法迪告诉我的，当时这些雇员骄傲的神情不仅是公司管理人员，还有送货车的驾驶员。这笔丰厚的收入可以使他们买到房子或者送他们的孩子上最好的学校。想象一下这些人当时的心情——当这些人回到家中和邻居之间，告诉所有的人他将盖新房子，因为他所供职的阿拉伯人开办的世界级公司已经上市了。想象一下，当他们看见自己成功地在平坦的世界里前进时——不是依靠传统的中东管理模式、不是依靠出卖土地、不是依靠政府和约，而是为一家真正的阿拉伯公司工作时，心中是什么感觉。就像在基地组织中没有印度人并不奇怪一样，人们也应该容易理解，Aramex公司的3000雇员心里想的只有促进经济增长、提高人们生活水平的递送包裹业务，而不是人体炸弹。 谈到Aramex有认股权的雇员，法迪说：“他们感觉自己就像是公司的主人。 很多人找到我说：“谢谢你给我们带来财富，但是我不想兑现，我想投资公司，成为新的IPO （首次公开发行股票）的投资者。'”如果能再找出100 个像Aramex一样的例子，阿拉伯世界就已经有了与现在不同的社会环境和文化内涵。