The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
Global commerce
can lead to greater
international
harmony.
by Phil Phillips, PhD
Contributing Editor
phillips@chemarkconsulting.net
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” And so begins Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, with a contradictory
statement about life during the French Revolution that applies today with even greater force.
As individuals residing in the U.S. we are witness to the strife of wars and upheavals around
the world through modern day electronic communications, but we are not normally impacted
by them directly. We’re insulated and live fairly
comfortably. Yes, we have isolated instances but
after they are behind us we have an uncanny
ability to push the horror of events such as 911
to the sidelines and go on with our lives relatively unafraid and with an uplifted built–in
positive attitude and hope.
We live in the best-of-times commercially
since never before in history have we had a truly
global economy. This tends to compel us to be
more cautious before knee-jerk reacting with
force to settle a dispute or to conquer a people
or a land. This evolving commercial interdependence is moving us ever so slowly as a body
of people globally toward greater peace as a result of this interdependence.
Yes, we have problems. Some would say
these are the worst-of-times. We have ten percent of the U.S. population living in poverty;
globally, we have 35 percent; we have wars in
the Middle East that are disproportionately
draining the U.S. Treasury; we have terrorists
that have been nurtured by their leaders to destroy those that have a good life and have income producing jobs; we have countries that are
leveraging their economic position by practicing
violations of human rights and stealing intellectual property of other countries; we have a potential double dip recession in the industrialized
countries; and since World War II the gap between rich countries and poor countries has
grown rapidly.
I’m not suggesting international commerce
by itself is the answer to experiencing the best-
of-times globally, but when the various world
economic platelets finally become one, causing,
or forcing, us all to breath in unison, we do have
a chance to raise the sustenance and quality of
life for all of us, thus dramatically reducing friction over basic wants.
History has proven that commerce opens up
dialogue, which opens up interpersonal skills,
which opens intercultural appreciation, which
provides the basis for understanding and friendships, which is ultimately the basis for long-term
positive relationships.
Why does it make sense to discuss international harmony and commerce in this journal?
What do these two ideas have to do with paints,
coatings, adhesives, sealants and other specialty
chemicals? The answer is simply because they
are elements that find use in just about all manufactured goods globally consumed. In addition,
we have indirect and direct opportunities to positively impact international relationships on a
broad geographical front during the process of
marketing these universal products.
Through our outstanding industry associations and the leaders in both our large and small
companies along the value chains who supply
regionally and globally, to manufacturers of appliances, automobiles, trucks, furniture, electrical systems, electronics, highway systems,
containers, agricultural equipment, aircraft and
aerospace equipment to name a few, we can
make progress in leveling the fairness playing
field while paving the way for future giant steps
of collaboration and friendship.
There exists within our current paints, coatings, adhesives and sealants industries leadership, a pent-up wealth of untapped rapport
and respect bound up in great knowledge, experience and wisdom, that can be leveraged
diplomatically through developing regions of
the world.
I believe the challenge to the collective leaderships of our fine industry suppliers and formulators is to continue to step up tactical
efforts to create a sustainable trust across all
cultural boundaries internationally simply because it pays off economically and has both a
long and short-term effect on the promotion of
global peace. CW
