North America and Central America
“Substantive ideas are ones that don't dissipate with giving, but expand and grow.”
CANADA Television, computers, telephones, fax machines — these instantly link people anywhere in the world. Many, though, are fearful of the linkage connected with globalization. People who are from different cultures and relocate, for instance, are challenged with integrating into an already-established society. And the already-established society is sometimes challenged (this has been the case in Canada) with including these people.
But it's interesting. If you know someone from another race or culture — and know them really well — you no longer see them in terms of the color of their skin or the way they dress. What you notice is their smile and the good qualities they express. And you love these qualities.
We'll all have wonderful unity if we identify each other this way. Racial, social, and religious boundaries won't interfere anymore.
Joan Olynyk, VancouverUNITED STATES I don't feel that the US or Russia or any other country can go it alone. The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Conference of Finance Ministers from all over the world, are helping us work together as a unit, as a team.
At the same time, we need to respect the cultures of the various countries. They all need to feel part of the overall solution to our world's economic challenges.
A standard of good policy for the global economy is found in the Bible: “By an equality ... your abundance may be a supply for their want ... [and] their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality” (II Corinthians 8:14). This provides a climate of opportunity for everyone.
Harry Schiering, formerly with the Federal Reserve Bank, Atlanta
In the shipping business, you have to deal with many regulations — not only in your country but in others. Some 20 years ago, however, there were a lot more regulations and barriers to trade than there are now. Little by little, these barriers are being removed. Countries are adopting common tariffs — called “harmonized” tariff schedules. This move towards global commonality is very significant. It helps everybody.
But sometimes there's a breakdown. Sometimes people blame one nation — often a debtor nation — for the failure of the whole economic chain.
The answers here just have to be spiritual. I think a lot about two words: identity and individuality. We all have a common identity as children of God. We all reflect His love in abundance, intelligence, goodness — in everything He has to give us. But we each have a distinct individuality in the way we express God's qualities. That's true for people, and for nations.
It's not the nature of divine Love to withhold itself. God's goodness can't be withheld from debtor nations or creditor nations. God's law blesses everybody.
John Matusek, President, Carl Matusek, Inc. (international shipping company), Miami
“Emerging nations will leapfrog past the interim steps.”
UNITED STATES The greatest portion of the population on a global scale is still not wired in the traditional sense — not connected to the level of telecommunication that exists in the so-called industrial nations.
It will be fascinating to watch the emerging nations catch up in terms of communication — and leapfrog past the interim steps in getting there. In some countries, we're seeing people using cell phones before they have traditional phones!
I don't believe, though, that we're going to have homogenous world development. I don't believe we're going to come to the point where everybody in the world speaks English. On the contrary, I think America will be challenged to become more multilingual.
All of us want to improve. To do that we need information, knowledge, direction. The Christian Science Publishing Society is positioned to be incredibly supportive of humanity's striving upward. And, as people begin to work with good ideas from all directions — to me, that's prayer.
If you sit down and pray, you're opening thought. You're listening. Prayer is shifting to a very quiet, humble place where you establish a connection with God. And this leads to finding solutions. Catherine Aitken-Smith, Director of Broadcast Services, The Christian Science Publishing Society, Boston
UNITED STATES In the US, the service economy has exploded in the last 20 years. On the other hand, the number of jobs in the goodsproducing area has remained flat.
What does it mean to move from a goods economy to a service economy? It means the value of goods has fallen, year after year, relative to the value of services.
This provides an interesting object lesson for anyone who is used to thinking that ideas (which I associate with services) have value. Substantive ideas don't dissipate with giving, but expand and grow. If I've got a bushel of wheat and give some away, I don't have as much wheat as I did before. On the other hand, if I give away love, I don't have less of it.
We're to the point where economists are thinking along these lines, too. When you give away the idea of software, you've still got that idea. And you can sell it to more people. Economists acknowledge that the production of ideas is where the real value comes in.
One idea we produce in a global economy is trust. You may think you're in the shoe, photography, or software business. But you're really in the trust business. Trust is what you're providing when you produce goods, and especially when you produce a service.
I have empathy with what's going on in the emerging nations. And I have empathy with the economic difficulties of people just 15 minutes away from my house.
We can each decide to take small steps on our own to pray continually about these situations. This might mean the idea of a smile being a prayer. Or an evening tutoring a kid from the inner city being a prayer.
Every time we seek good in a situation, every time we make a friend out of an enemy — we're praying. If you hold in your thought the idea of pure Love, the ultimate Love (and for the moment let's call that Love God), that Love has, in itself, intrinsic power — power to make things better. I don't know if you call that prayer or not. But I do. Dean Furbush, Chief Economist, NASD/NASDAQ. Stock Market. Washington. D.C.
North America Most populous countries
• USA: Pop.: 2703 mil.; 9,629,000 km2 ; Industry: oil, steel, automobiles
• Mexico: 98.6 mil.; 1,973,000 km2 ; food production, farming, chemicals
• Canada: 30.7 mil.; 9,976,000 km2 ; minerals, food production, lumber and paper
• Guatemala: 12.0 mil.; 109,000 km2 ; sugar, textiles, furniture
• Cuba: 11.1 mil.; 111,000 km2 ; sugar, oil, food production
• Dominican Republic: 8.0 mil.; 49,000 km2 ; tourism, sugar, mining (gold)
• Haiti: 6.8 mil.; 28,000 km2 ; sugar, flour, textiles
Sources: Der Fischer Weltalmanuch ‘97, Fïscher Taschenbuch Verlan Frankfurt/M./CIA, www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook
