We are living in a world of unprecedented changes. With this change come our natural tendencies to be apprehensive about our place in this fast-evolving world. Whether you are in Tokyo or Helsinki, California or Abuja, the worries might be different in details but I believe they are identical in essence.
While we in the developing world are pre-occupied with meeting basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing, westerners are worried about their ability to maintain their high standard of living.
I believe such worries are misplaced. In all of history, this is probably the best time to live. There are more opportunities for any average creative and hardworking person now than at any other time in history.
Saku Tuominen, the founder of the Idealist Group, puts it succinctly when he said “The world is more connected than ever before and production costs, especially on the digital side, are falling dramatically. With a good idea, great implementation and the right timing, practically anybody can challenge anyone these days. Never in the history of mankind have there been so many opportunities…..”
The same sentiment was echoed by Zoltan Acs, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Public Policy at George Mason University, hear him: “The world is at a sort of ‘ground zero’ in its struggle to create hundreds of innovative products — and in the process millions of jobs — to deal with an ever-growing population and the demands of emerging economies such as Brazil and China. This struggle has captured the aspirations of thousands of entrepreneurs around the world. Despite the impact of the economic downturn, entrepreneurs are enjoying a renaissance. A global entrepreneurial revolution is spreading like wildfire.”
Almost all traditional barriers to business are being phased out with the advent of information technology. I am a Nigerian based in Nigeria, but I deal with people from all over the world even from the comfort of my Lagos office. All I need is a computer and internet.
A close friend of mine lost his job last September because of downsizing in his company. The same guy has just got another job with a South African company without physically meeting anybody from the company. And it is unlikely that he needs to—he works and gets paid virtually.
Better Security
Yes, the world is safer now. There was a far greater risk of nuclear conflagration twenty, thirty, forty years ago than now. If a balance of terror was the deterrent of the cold war era, mutual economic dependence and interconnectivity are doing the same now. The truth is, it is in the interest of everybody to have peace—even the “axis of evil”
Okay, what about the irrational and obviously insane terrorists you may ask. Well, the fact is that Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups are weaker now than they were ten years ago and the noose is closing in even tighter on them. Another important truth is that world is better prepared than ever before to handle terrorism
Democracy Everywhere
There is a gale sweeping the whole world, from Tunisia to Egypt, from Russia to China, people are now demanding more for freedom and the entrenchment of democratic principles. There even appear to be a glimmer of hope in my perennially self-destroying Africa
All these do not mean there are no challenges in the current order of things; there are but, they are challenges that can easily be overcome. The first step towards this is having a positive attitude.
**This post was first published in January 2011.
