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Technology Widens
Rich-Poor Gap
By Philip Emeagwali
Oil has made us billions and fuelled our
economic stability, but oil has also become the bane of our existence.
For some, it is a curse that has caused poverty and corruption, but for
others it is an essential source of untold wealth and power. But as the
gap between rich and poor countries continues to expand, it is clear
that intellectual capital and technology rule the world, and that
natural resources such as oil, gold, and diamonds are no longer the
primary determinants of wealth.
Surprisingly, nations with few natural
resources demonstrate greater economic growth rates than OPEC countries.
Japan’s economic growth, driven by technological superiority, outpaces
that of Saudi Arabia; South Korea is growing faster than oil-rich
Nigeria; and Taiwan’s economy has moved well beyond that of oil-rich
Venezuela. The United States and Norway are also rich in oil, yet their
staggering economic growth comes from intellectual capital.
In reality, it is not money but
intellectual capital that drives prosperity. More important, perhaps, is
the reality that poverty is driven and sustained by a lack of
intellectual capital.
The intimate relationship between
intellectual capital and economic growth is as old as humanity itself,
and is well illustrated by this parable from ancient Babylon (modern-day
Iraq). A man asked his children:
“If you had a choice between the clay of
wisdom or a bag of gold, which would you choose?”
“The bag of gold, the bag of gold” the
naïve children cried, not realizing that wisdom had the potential to
earn them many more bags of gold in the future.
Seven thousand years later, Iraq — the
cradle of civilization — has its own private bag of gold as it sits
perched atop the world’s third largest oil reserves. Meanwhile, Israel,
tucked away in the hostile terrain of a barren desert, has the clay of
wisdom — the weightless wealth of intellectual capital embodied in the
collective mind of its people.
The striking economic gap that persists
between rich and poor nations has increased sevenfold over the past
century to what is now an all-time high. The accumulation of
intellectual capital by rich nations has helped broaden this gap because
it has enabled them to control technology and collect hidden taxes from
less affluent nations. For instance, Nigeria pays a 40-percent
“royalty” tax on its petroleum revenues to foreign oil companies that
are ripping out its family jewels — the huge store of wealth in its
oilfields. These oilfields started forming when prehistoric, dog-sized
humans — our common ancestor with the apes — walked African grasslands
on four legs.
It’s a shocking reality, but the deep
oil reserves laid down by Mother Nature millions of years ago and
nurtured through the millennia in Africa have been whittled away within
decades. And, for the dubious privilege of surrendering its natural
resources forever, Nigeria is required to pay half its petroleum revenue
in the form of “royalties” to the rich kids on the global block, the
United States and the Netherlands. That oilfield has been exchanged for
a bowl of porridge, and the black gold that should serve the underserved
in Nigeria is helping wealthy Westerners get wealthier.
Today, half the world’s population —
three billion people — live on an average of $500 a year. In contrast,
Bill Gates earns $500 every second. By controlling technology and taxing
computer users, Gates has become wealthier than each of the 70 poorest
nations on earth and using his financial might has conquered more
territory than Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great
combined.
While Bill Gates is the new millennium’s
Prince of Technology, he is by no means the first to have taken on the
huge potential offered by the realm of technology. The Romans used roads
and military technology to expand their empire. And, for centuries,
Britain ruled a quarter of the Earth due to its unparalleled ability to
command maritime technology and conquer the Seven Seas.
Britain undoubtedly established itself
as the world’s first superpower through its rapid and ruthless colonial
expansion program. The British raised the Union Jack over Canada and
Australia, India and Hong Kong, Egypt and Kenya, and countless other
countries — even the United States. The Union Jack cast its shadow in
every global time zone, giving rise to the saying, “The sun never sets
on the British Empire,” a fact that was cold comfort to the colonized
nations.
In the same way, the United States has
embraced its technological supremacy, both offensively and defensively,
to build its own global empire without a physical presence in any of its
“colonies.” The sole remaining superpower is at the forefront of every
major technological advancement, which it has used to become deeply
embedded in three-quarters of the globe. The US has accomplished a
virtual economic colonization manifesting its presence throughout the
globe by harnessing the power of technology and capitalizing on its clay
of wisdom.
Africa’s inability to realize its
potential and embrace technology has left it at the mercy of the West.
The time has come for Africa to seize the day and resist the efforts of
America and others to leave their imprint and plunder its natural
resources.
Numerous examples throughout history
support the idea that technology can be used as a tool of oppression.
And there’s little doubt that America’s technological advancement has
allowed it to exploit natural resources around the world. This is
particularly evident in Africa, where the US is exploiting oilfields
beneath the pristine rainforest — and being rewarded with a 40-percent
tax at the expense of the African people. This lends credence to
history’s assertion that those who control technology oppress those who
do not, eventually enslaving them and, finally, wielding power around
the globe.
Excerpted
from a keynote speech delivered by Philip Emeagwali in Tucson, Arizona.
For the entire transcript and video, visit http://www.emeagwali.com.
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