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control insects that transmit agents of disease； how to develop a genetic or chemical
strategy to incapacitate a disease…transmitting insect population； how to create a
full range of optimal bioavailable nutrients in a single staple plant species； and
how to create immunological methods that can cure chronic infections。 Within a year；
the foundation received sixteen hundred proposals for ways to meet these challenges
from scientists in seventy…five countries； and the foundation is now in the process
of funding the best proposals with 250 million in cash。
〃We're trying to accomplish two things with this program；〃 explained Rick Klausner；
a former head of the National Cancer Institute who now runs the global health programs
for the Gates Foundation。 〃The first is ＇to make＇ a moral appeal to the scientific
imagination； ＇pointing out＇ that there are great problems to be solved that we； the
scientific community； have ignored； even though we pride ourselves in how
international weare。 We have not taken our responsibilities as globalproblem solvers
as seriously as our self…identity as an international community。 We wanted the Grand
Challenges to say these are the most exciting； sexy； scientific things that anyone
in the world could work on right now 。 。 。 The idea was to fire the imagination。 The
second thing is to actually direct some of the foundation's resources to see if we
could do it。〃
Given the phenomenal advances in technology in the last twenty years； it is easy to
assume that we already have all the tools to address some of these challenges and
that the only thing lacking is money。 I wish that were the case。 But it is not。 In
the instance of malaria； for example； it isn't just the drugs that are missing。 As
anyone who has visited Africa or rural India knows； the health…care systems in these
areas are often broken or functioning at a very low level。 So the Gates Foundation
is trying to stimulate the development of drugs and delivery systems that presume
a broken health…care system and therefore can be safely self…administered by ordinary
people in the field。 That may be the grandest challenge of all： to use the tools of
the flat world to design tools that work in an unflat world。 〃The most important
health…care system in the world is a mother；〃
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said Klausner。 〃How do you get things in her hands that she understands and can afford
and can use？〃
The tragedy of all these people is really a dual tragedy； added Klausner。 There is
the individual tragedy of facing a death sentence from disease or a life sentence
of broken families and limited expectations。 And there is the tragedy for the world
because of the incredible lost contribution that all these people still outside the
flat world could be making。 In a flat world； where we are connecting all the knowledge
pools together； imagine what knowledge those people could bring to science or
education。 In a flat world； where innovation can come from anywhere； we are letting
a huge pool of potential contributors and collaborators slip under the waves。 There
is no question that poverty causes ill health； but ill health also traps people in
poverty； which in turn weakens them and keeps them from grasping the first rung of
the ladder to middle…class hope。 Until and unless we can meet some of these grand
challenges； much of that 50 percent of the world that is still not flat will stay
that way…no matter how flat the other 50 percent gets。
TOO DlSEMPOWERED
There's not just the flat world and the unflat world。 Many people live in the twilight
zone between the two。 Among these are the people I call the too disempowered。 They
are a large group of people who have not been fully encompassed by the flattening
of the world。 Unlike the too sick； who have yet even to get a chance to step onto
the flat world； the too disempowered are people who you might say are half flat。 They
are healthy people who live in countries with significant areas that have been
flattened but who don't have the tools or the skills or the infrastructure to
participate in any meaningful or sustained way。 They have just enough information
to know that the world is flattening around them and that they aren't really getting
any of the benefits。 Being flat is good but full of pressure； being unflat is awful
and full of pain； but being half flat has its own special anxiety。 As exciting and
as visible as the flat
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Indian high…tech sector is； have no illusions： It accounts for 0。2 percent of
employment in India。 Add those Indians involved in manufacturing for export； and you
get a total of 2 percent of employment in India。
The half flat are all those other hundreds of millions of people； particularly in
rural India； rural China； and rural Eastern Europe； who are close enough to see； touch；
and occasionally benefit from the flat world but who are not really living inside
it themselves。 We saw how big and how angry this group can be in the spring of 2004
Indian national elections； in which the ruling BJP was surprisingly tossed out of
office…despite having overseen a surge in India's growth rate…largely because of the
discontent of rural Indian voters with the slow pace of globalization outside the
giant cities。 These voters were not saying； 〃Stop the globalization train； we want
to get off。〃 They were saying； 〃Stop the globalization train； we want to get on； but
someone needs to help us by building a better stepstool。〃
These rural voters…peasants and farmers； who form the bulk of India's population
just had to spend a day in any nearby big city to see the benefits of the flat world：
the cars； the houses； the educational opportunities。 〃Every time a villager watches
the community TV and sees an ad for soap or shampoo； what they notice are not the
soap and shampoo but the lifestyle of the people using them…the kind of motorbikes
they ride； their dress； and their homes；〃 explained Indian…born Nayan Chanda； editor
of YaleGlobal Online。 〃They see a world they want access to。 This election was about
envy and anger。 It was a classic case of revolutions happening when things are getting
better but not fast enough for many people。〃
At the same time； these rural Indians understood； at gut level； exactly why it was
not happening for them： because local governments in India have become so eaten away
by corruption and mismanagement that they cannot deliver to the poor the schools and
infrastructure they need to get a fair share of the pie。 As some of these millions
of Indians on the outside of the gated communities looking in lose hope； 〃they become
more religious； more tied to their caste/subcaste； more radical in their thinking；
more willing to snatch than create； ＇and＇ view dirty politics as being the only way
to get mobility； since economic mobility is stalled；〃 said Vivek
Paul of Wipro。 India can have the smartest high…tech vanguard in the world； but if
it does not find a way to bring along more of those who are unable； disabled；
undereducated； and underserved； it will be like a rocket that takes off but quickly
falls back to earth for lack of sustained thrust。
The Congress Party got the message； which was why as soon as it took office it chose
as its prime minister not some antiglobalizer but Manmohan Singh； the former Indian
finance minister； who in 1991 first opened the Indian economy to globalization；
placing an emphasis on exports and trade and reform wholesale。 And Singh； in turn；
pledged himself to vastly increase government investments in rural infrastructure
and to bring more reform retail to rural government。
How can outsiders collaborate in this process？ I think； first and foremost； they can
redefine the meaning of global populism。 If populists really want to help the rural
poor； the way to do it is not by burning down McDonald's and shutting down the IMF
and trying to put up protectionist barriers that will unflatten the world。 That will
help the rural poor not one iota。 It has to be by refocusing the energies of the global
populist movement on how to improve local government； infrastructure； and education
in places like rural India and China； so the populations there can acquire the tools
to collaborate and participate in the flat world。 Theglobal populist movement； better
known as the antiglobalization movement； has a great deal of energy； but up to now
it has been too divided and confused to effectively help the poor in any meaningful
or sustained manner。 It needs a policy lobotomy。 The world's poor do not resent the
rich anywhere nearly as much as the left…wing parties in the developed world imagine。
What they resent is not having any pathway to get rich and to join the flat world
and cross that line into the middle class that Jerry Yang spoke about。
Let's pause for a minute here and trace how the antiglobalization movement lost touch
with the true aspirations of the world's poor。 The antiglobalization movement emerged
at the World Trade Organization conference in Seattle in 1999 and then spread around
the world in subsequent years； usually gathering to attack meetings of the World Ban