The bridge to the 21st century is under construction, and the only way were going to be able to build it quickly and correctly is if we understand the technological challenges ahead of us. If we ignore those challenges, then well likely end up in the river. These are market-driven challenges for industry, and anytime the marketplace challenges us, thats a tremendous opportunity for business growth and profitability. Global market forces are opening up these new opportunities, and theyre driving the development of new technology and products. There are many new innovations and a great incline in the development of new technology.
Richard Alm agrees and states that: Few Americans would deny todays technology explosion. Even in this era of supercomputers, space travel, and cloning, though, technology isnt always seen as a boom (20). While thinking of what will come, an allusion to a literary work comes up and describes a Rip Van Winkle later in the future that awakes to “the whoosh of trains being propelled through the air by superconducting magnets” (Elmer-DeWitt 42). This is what is to come very soon with the push of technology along with such innovations as “7-ft. TV images as crisp as 35-mm slides and enticing new food products concocted in the lab” (42).
The United States has missed several opportunities to overcome such technological countries like Japan. One of which was Americas chance to patent “hydrogen-storing alloys that are used in tiny batteries for notebook computers” (Black 168). After reflecting these thoughts, Philip Elmer-DeWitt says that if our fictional character Rip Van Winkle were to: read the labels on those futuristic creations, he might also discover the outcome of Americas struggle to remain the leading technological superpower. Sad to say, a majority of those products might well bear the words MADE IN JAPAN (42).
Advantages and disadvantages come about from being involved in the global market. The “expanding world markets are a key driving force for the 21st century economy” (Mandel 67). Michael J. Mandel states that “the severe slump in Asia points [out] the vulnerabilities of the global market place, but the long-term trends of fast-rising trade and rising world incomes still remain in place” (67). De-Witt continues by saying that this is “the worrisome analysis of U. S. experts in government, industry and academia” (42). He finishes up with the thought that:
Virtually every week seems to bring fresh evidence that Japan is catching up with the U. S. often surpassing it in creating the cutting-edge products that long were the turf of U. S. firms (42) The changes that have occurred in America are becoming ever more clear and will be even more evident in the near future and Tom Morganthau agrees with the statement that “The percentage of Latinos, African-Americans and Asians will jump, and whites could become a minority as early as the 2050s” (57). He also states, “there are signs that Americans are adapting to ethnic diversity and there are forces at work that will tend to obscure it” (58).
The intermarriage rate between blacks and whites, while still small, is rising, and the number of Latinos marrying across ethnic lines is increasing as well” (58). Many changes in Americas culture are coming about with the rise of the new generations and some traditions and cultural habits may become lost in the mixture of society in America. New ways of life will come about in this new millennium. “We are conscious of the desperate need for new ways for people to make money in our society, particularly ways that create jobs” (Gordon 17).
The market changes are becoming more apparent as well in the coming years by analyzing the past. Opportunities such as when the “U. S. electronics firms licensed away their breakthroughs in televisions and VCRs, materials companies divested theirs to foreign competitors” (Black 168). Such market changes could easily bring the market to a screeching halt and Americans would become completely dependent upon other countries. Some examples of new markets that will be coming about would include “microelectronics video imagingsuperconductivity[and] biotechnology” (Elmer-De-Witt 43).
Advances in medicine are becoming evidently clearer. “The burgeoning field known as tissue engineering didnt even exist 15 years ago” (Cowley 66). Cowley states “Today its pioneers are finding that almost any biological material can be coaxed from a cultural dish” (66). “The information revolution will continue to boost productivity across the economy” (Mandell 63). Michael Mandel also states that “over the next 10 years, such information-dependent industries as finance, media and wholesale and retail trade will change the most” (63).
There will also be a surge of major technology breakthroughs, including biotechnology, will begin to create entire new industries over the next 10 years” (63). Also an increase in “globalization will simultaneously provide much larger markets and tough foreign competitors. The result: companies will have even more incentive while cutting costs” (63) “The coming decades will show a substantial growth much faster than most economists expect—perhaps 3% or more per year,” says Michael Mandel (63) “Inflationary surges and large budget deficits will become less likely” (63).
Mandel states: Despite all the scare talk, the next generation will enjoy a rising standard of living, even while baby boomers are able to retire comfortably. Countries that follow policies that encourage innovation, free trade, and open financial systems will enjoy a competitive edge. Businesses that master the new technologies will be able to count on better profits and bigger market share (63). The downside to this is the “major dislocations and uncertainty for workers and businesses” and “will be inevitable as new technologies are adopted” (63).
Another negative effect to the economic drive is that “technology shocks will increase economic and financial volatility, both in the U. S. and globally” (63). Automobiles are going to be drastically different if car manufacturers like Ford and Daimler-Chrysler have their way. They first must jump a few hurdles which include the U. S. Government. George Eads states “it is crucial that policymakers and politicians looking for technological fixes to problems understand the difficulty of totally reinventing the automobile” (28).
The OTA report that was issued addresses the concern that it is more realistic to be fairly conservative about when many of the advanced technologies will enter the marketplace” (31). What parents need to be aware of most is if the children they are bringing into this world are ready for the 21st century. Emily Sachar believes “the learning process is state-of-the art as well; instead of memorizing facts and mastering rote drills, students [must] learn to solve many real life problems” (124).
One must still remember that “the basics reading, writing, and arithmetic are as important as the quest for technological literacy (124). The Americans of the 21st century are todays children. Their values are being shaped by mothers who work outside the home, neighbors who speak different languages and teachers who preach about the environment. Their destinations are being determined by the amount of money we set aside for their college education and for our own retirement. They will live in a world quite different from ours. A statement that was brought up that raises an interesting point is one spoken by Jeannye Thornton:
When the clock strikes 12 the night of December 31, 1999, revelers all over the world will hail the new millennium. Only trouble is, theyll be doing their partying a year early. By decree of the Royal Greenwich Observatory in Cambridge, England, the first New Years Eve of the third millennium falls on January 1, 2001 (14). As the economy evolves, it takes less and less time for new products to spread into the population and it a parent will have even less time to help their children grow up into a more mature attitude and living in reality, or should it be virtual reality.