Silicon Valley lessons--decline of the West?

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Well, yeah...

...just because you're free doesn't mean that you aren't going to be poor.

I saw a documentary done by Friedman last year on India. It was interesting. He talked about the Indians who are taking call center jobs. The transition in lifestyle they're making reminded me of Americans in the 1950s, where children of that generation were born into affluence, whereas their parents, who had gone through the Great Depression, probably were born into affluence as well (during the 1920's, say), but saw that it could all fall apart. So they had a very different take on the world.

The number of Indians that can take call center jobs is actually very small compared to the general population. According to the documentary, only about 1% of all call center applicants were accepted. One of the requirements was that they had to speak English well. Friedman may have been talking to one of the better call center companies. Many in the U.S. have had the experience of talking to an Indian call rep. who they couldn't understand very well. So the standard of "speaking English well" must not apply to every call center.

But the new-found wealth wasn't sitting well with some of the elders there. The young workers were throwing off traditional conventions and values, and this worried many. There are cultural activists in India now who worry that Indian culture is dying, and are increasingly antagonistic towards capitalism for "killing" it. They argue that the materialistic life is not better. The younger folks would disagree. They feel they have a freedom that their ancestors, going back many generations, never had.

Posted by: Mark Miller   Posted on: 04/09/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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