In 1979 the United States recognized the People’s Republic of China and opened its doors to a new era of trade with that Communist country.Just three years later (1982) businessman-futurist John Naisbitt wrote Megatrends, a book predicting a new post-industrial America where factory work was a thing of the past and Americans worked in air conditioned offices.
Factory work was exhausting, filthy, dehumanizing work, said Naisbitt. We should be glad to be rid of it.
Let the Third World carry out the drudgery of factory work, he said. We, on the other hand, will be upgrading to air conditioned office work with computers.
Information would become America’s new industry.
And furthermore, this wonderful transformation was not only desirable, but inevitable.
Of course, it was clear where all of America’s factories would be going – outside the country.
According to Naisbitt, production would move to the countries of the Third World in general, who would be glad to industrialize and who would compete over who would sell to America at the lowest price for the best quality.
Meanwhile, Americans would move from the era of industrialization to the post-industrial age of Information, which would include managing all the industrial goods pouring happily into America from the Third World.
Yes, Naisbitt said, our factories are about to get shut down and exported to the Third World.
But wait until you see the jobs we would be getting in exchange!
Every ex-factory workers would now get their own air conditioned offices, where only the most comfortable of jobs awaited – data management.
For others, a comfortable and stimulating life awaited in retail, selling all those manufactured goods that would be pouring into America from the outside.
It took us more than two decades to see that Megatrends was a LIE.
The Third World DID NOT get to partake of all our exported factory jobs, only one country did – China.
Americans DID NOT get a chance to become comfortable retailers of externally produced manufactured goods, only one corporation did – Walmart.
The American factory worker DID NOT get his air conditioned office with a desk and a computer to manage information.
Instead what he got was part-time job as a sales clerk at Walmart.
Well, at least our workers got the air-conditioned work environment Naisbitt was crowing about so much.
More likely than not, Megatrends was simply part of a deception to sugar-coat America’s exportation of her industries (and jobs) to China.
How else could this delusional book hit the New York Times Bestseller’s List for two years in a row?
But when I read Megatrends in the 1980’s, I thought Naisbitt was on to something.
Why couldn’t the Third World do all the producing and America reap all the harvest while cleaning up our environment and improving our work place.
But of course, I had a totally different picture of this Megtrend.
In a possible reality, cheap goods from the Third World might have fueled all the mom and pop stores across America.
Instead, the Megatrends imports wiped them all out...leaving only Walmart.
In a possible reality, the nations of the Third World might have profited from a new American-backed industrialization and American imports of their manufactured goods.
Instead, only one mega-nation did – China.
Is it any wonder that all those cushy high-paying air conditioned office jobs never showed up?
It was all just one more establishment LIE.
Two decades after Naisbitt’s Mega-lie, China has emerged as the world's foremost new industrial power.
Is it any wonder then that John Naisbitt now makes his home in Tianjin, China?
Before closing I would like to mention just one more thing.
Naisbitt’s big lie reminds me of an even bigger lie: The New World Order.
Just like Naisbitt promised us an air conditioned Shangri-la as a workplace after we exported all our industries, the New World Order is promising us peace and prosperity under a new international system if we just give up our sovereignty.
Meanwhile, Americans would move from the era of industrialization to the post-industrial age of Information, which would include managing all the industrial goods pouring happily into America from the Third World.
Yes, Naisbitt said, our factories are about to get shut down and exported to the Third World.
But wait until you see the jobs we would be getting in exchange!
Every ex-factory workers would now get their own air conditioned offices, where only the most comfortable of jobs awaited – data management.
For others, a comfortable and stimulating life awaited in retail, selling all those manufactured goods that would be pouring into America from the outside.
It took us more than two decades to see that Megatrends was a LIE.
The Third World DID NOT get to partake of all our exported factory jobs, only one country did – China.
Americans DID NOT get a chance to become comfortable retailers of externally produced manufactured goods, only one corporation did – Walmart.
The American factory worker DID NOT get his air conditioned office with a desk and a computer to manage information.
Instead what he got was part-time job as a sales clerk at Walmart.
Well, at least our workers got the air-conditioned work environment Naisbitt was crowing about so much.
More likely than not, Megatrends was simply part of a deception to sugar-coat America’s exportation of her industries (and jobs) to China.
How else could this delusional book hit the New York Times Bestseller’s List for two years in a row?
But when I read Megatrends in the 1980’s, I thought Naisbitt was on to something.
Why couldn’t the Third World do all the producing and America reap all the harvest while cleaning up our environment and improving our work place.
But of course, I had a totally different picture of this Megtrend.
In a possible reality, cheap goods from the Third World might have fueled all the mom and pop stores across America.
Instead, the Megatrends imports wiped them all out...leaving only Walmart.
In a possible reality, the nations of the Third World might have profited from a new American-backed industrialization and American imports of their manufactured goods.
Instead, only one mega-nation did – China.
Is it any wonder that all those cushy high-paying air conditioned office jobs never showed up?
It was all just one more establishment LIE.
Two decades after Naisbitt’s Mega-lie, China has emerged as the world's foremost new industrial power.
Is it any wonder then that John Naisbitt now makes his home in Tianjin, China?
Before closing I would like to mention just one more thing.
Naisbitt’s big lie reminds me of an even bigger lie: The New World Order.
Just like Naisbitt promised us an air conditioned Shangri-la as a workplace after we exported all our industries, the New World Order is promising us peace and prosperity under a new international system if we just give up our sovereignty.
Do you think the reality will even approximate the promise?
You think the New World Order will be about peace?
It’ll probably be about terror.
You think the New World Order will be about prosperity?
It’ll probably be about deprivation.
You think it’ll be about democracy and human rights?
It’ll probably be about tyranny.
Let’s learn a lesson from the Megatrends, shall we?
The promises of the New World Order (just like Megatrends) are nothing but gigantic LIES.
You think the New World Order will be about peace?
It’ll probably be about terror.
You think the New World Order will be about prosperity?
It’ll probably be about deprivation.
You think it’ll be about democracy and human rights?
It’ll probably be about tyranny.
Let’s learn a lesson from the Megatrends, shall we?
The promises of the New World Order (just like Megatrends) are nothing but gigantic LIES.
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ReplyDeleteGreat Post. The issue of outsourcing is one that the American Middle class has suffered through silently for the past 30yrs. The mainstream media has since been bought by the same transnational companies that outsourced the work. So the problem has no coverage until recently Diane Sawyer has had a running segment this past year about Buying goods manufactured in America. President Obama is trying to address the issue currently bringing manufacturing home. The conversation is changing. Let's hope its not too late. I will keep up on this blog, as Im sure it will continue to be informative. please check out theyrule.blogspot.com.
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