Convergence: More than Money

One of the articles I bookmarked discussed convergence in a broader scope than Sachs deals with in 'Common Wealth'. The study suggests that many developing countries borrow technologies and process that have been optimized by developed countries. These technologies do not necessarily fit into the culture and create discord. The discord can be solved in one of two ways, either the technology is changed, or the culture adapts to meet the demands of the technology. The study shows that by absorbing the technology of developed countries to achieve a better global economic position the culture of the developed country is also brought in. So rather than just the economic per capita income converging towards that of the developed country, the cultural values are also becoming that of the developed nations.

I wonder what the implications of convergence of both economics (i.e. per capital income, etc) and other facets of society will have as the convergence becomes more widespread. Much of the design and innovation is still done in the developed countries while the technology that comes out of this research makes it's way around the globe. Once enough countries reach a certain level of development, many of them will begin creating their own technologies. As their dependence for the innovative technology of the developed countries begins to wain they will begin competing globally on all new levels. This, I would think, will have a remarkable global impact. I would guess that developed countries will, in an attempt to stay 'on top', develop ways to keep the developing countries always under their influence as long as possible.

This bring me to what I think is the greatest hindrance to global cooperation in enacting global change, and that is the self-centered nature of human beings. People are always looking for ways to make their own lives 'better', even at the detriment to others. The first step towards creating change is to instill a sense of responsibility and care for things other than oneself. This can be difficult even for Christians who have the best example of this. Once people develop a genuine Christ-like attitude, changes will begin all over out of sheer good will and care for others and the planet. I do realize that this concept is nearly as much of a pie-in-the-sky as all the other 'grand plans for global change' are, but I believe that the environmental or change for global sustainment are only a very small part of the benefits that sharing Christ will bring. If only we had a global convergence in attitude towards that of Christ.