New Business Word of the Day: Chindia
ChangeThis has an excerpt from "Chindia Rising:How China and India Will Benefit Your Business," by Jagdish N. Sheth.
If the excerpt provides a model for the whole book, the writing is slightly jarring, like the name 'Chindia' itself. Many of the assertions seem overstated. Sheth argues for instance, that all politics now is driven by economics, as if politicians now serve at the whim of the market. There is truth to this, but there has been truth to this since Marx synthesized economics, politics and sociology. He calls China an 'ex-Communist' nation, which again seems to ignore its political reality.
Books on China and India veer between fear and optimism. Sheth would seem to fall mostly in the camp of optimist, though he can do fear, as well. For instance, he says "their impact on businesses worldwide, either as suppliers, customers, partners or competitors will be beneficial and enormous." But then, in the next sentence, "it is no exaggeration to state that the future survival of most admired enterprises from all advanced economies including the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Japan, and South Korea will depend on how quickly they participate in the ensuing rise of China and India."
His primary argument is a safe one: India and China's economies will get much, much larger and that the West's percentage of the world economy will fall, and overall this will be beneficial for the world's populace. That's likely true, even if, to borrow a line from George Whitesides, the future looks better for India than Indianapolis.
Some of Sheth's assumptions are probably less imminent than he would seem to think. For instance, he treats the idea of an Asian Euro as a given. Currency watchers think it could happen and would probably be a good thing, but it will be years in coming.
He also expects the cloning of sheep and other livestock to reduce pressure on natural resources, calling the process "routine," which seems a bit much. It does happen more often now, but it isn't like cloned livestock are being mass-produced.
Perhaps he's right that "The Western world will also embrace the spiritual and meditation practices of the East." Still, it seems to me that the East is moving more quickly right now to embrace Western materialism and consumer culture.
He concludes by saying that as the major Western economies fuse themselves into the 'Chindian' economic sphere
It will generate unprecedented innovation, probably more dramatic and breathtaking than the first Industrial Revolution, by making existing technologies more affordable and accessible and by inventing or discovering ways to replicate natural resources. Finally, both the advanced countries and the emerging economies will rapidly learn to innovate for conservation, sustainability and cloning of nature's resources.I don't want to be cynical; progress throughout human history has indeed come from cultures adapting ideas from one another, and improving on them. But this seems to take several flights of fancy and pronounce them all a success, before any of the planes are built. Tarun Khanna's "Billions of Entrepreneurs" (see my review capsule, China and India Don't Need Us" seems a more realistic way to look at how China and India will advance economically and where they may stumble, and the sobering impact it will have for at least parts of the West.
Has anyone read Sheth's book? Please fill us in in the comments section.
Like what you've read here? Hate it? Think BNET can be better? Let us know! Email us directly, or take the Help Us Build a Better BNET poll on BNET Intercom.