The advanced economies such as the U.S., Canada and Europe, must act now or face diminished global leadership and shrinking talent pools unable to support their high-tech economies. In the new global dispensation in which the demography of expert knowledge is no longer identical to that of industrial wealth, and where the ability to create new knowledge, reconfigure old knowledge and master and deploy both for competitive advantage is no longer the exclusive purview of the West, there is a compelling need to craft new paradigms that accommodate the universal strive for (and efficacy of achieving) global excellence, and the dynamics of participation all the way to the top, by new and emerging global players. This is not just a question of economic progress, but a strategic, proactive adjustment to a fast-evolving new global reality. Not only do our economies and quality of life depend on vibrant R&D enterprises, but so too does our national and homeland security, as pointed out by the Hart-Rudman Commission on National Security in 2001. We call on politicians, economists and entrepreneurs to conceptualize the future world-economic paradigm - of a world filled with knowledge clusters, innovation and global outsourcing.
American national leadership must understand that deficiencies in these areas are threats to its national security. If the U.S. and the EU do not invest heavily, reorient their strategies and wisely rebuild their core strengths, they will be incapable of maintaining their global economic positions well into the 21st century. Fortunately, this new global dispensation, one which recognises and embraces new non-traditional global players with their corresponding new strategic worldview, holds the promise of stimulating an exponential growth in global productivity and GDP through more equity and mutually beneficial trade, at greater levels of value addition. This will happen not only through the strength of a broader source of strategic expert knowledge, but also through the evolution of a much larger market as a result of the rapid development of these new global economies and the resulting creation and expansion of their middle-class. With such a quantum leap in global GDP, and especially with the promise of greater world peace and security that should result from the corresponding increase in the fairness and equity of global trade and collaboration, this will result in greater returns in absolute terms, even with a reduction in the proportionate share.
We are all aware that the 21st century will transform the fundamental nature of our economies on a global scale. The past decade has seen the rise of intense international competition, with the speed-of-change occurring faster than ever before. In today's dynamic environment, the future belongs not to those who sense change and simply respond to it. It belongs to those who anticipate and recognize the potential offered by change and who provide sound leadership with social responsibility.
The advanced economies will still have major advantages in this global environment, in areas such as health care, education, technological innovation, infrastructure and financial services, to name a few. For example, old-fashioned American deal-making-that seems to make the world go around-will be hard to outsource. So will many other assets, skills and attributes that have a firm foundation in each culture, nation or economy. It is precisely the richness of this cross-cultural and multi-talented nature of the global society that feeds the best of our tomorrows.
We don't have all the answers and no one can predict the future. However, we do know that the industrial nations will play an important role in the knowledge economy. Our foundation has put forward certain recommendations for the knowledge economy, education and combating global poverty for 21st century.
