Street Value of Today's OpEd Page: $4.10
And so the noble experiment comes to an end. I think we're all psychologically prepared for the iron curtain of paid content to be erected twixt us and the OpEd page. As a final, gala send-off, the Times has asked each one of their columnists to prepare a completely archetypical column that best defines their personal gimmick. Today, having replaced Paul Krugman with a charticle as punishment for his disrespect for the position of "Public Editor," they give us Thomas Friedman's essential self, a couple hundred words he could've written 10 years ago or 10 years from now.
To learn why your plummeting salary and lack of benefits is good for the world as a whole, join us after the jump.
Dateline — Bagalore! Globalization — good! Europe — lazy! India — eager to please! Metaphors — wince-inducing:
Indeed, there is a huge famine breaking out all over India today, an incredible hunger. But it is not for food. It is a hunger for opportunity that has been pent up like volcanic lava under four decades of socialism, and it's now just bursting out with India's young generation.
You see, he makes sure to tell us, globalization is not about a "race to the bottom," with companies seeking to do business in countries with no labor laws, hiring third-world employees who will work for nothing. No, it's a "race to the top," with countries seeking to do business in countries where strikes are outlawed, hiring third-world employees who will work very hard for nothing! Hooray! They'll design "your next airplane" for pennies! Continue to feel completely secure, upper-middle class reader — your exploitation of the cheapest labor available is a net positive! And with the money you save, you'll be able to buy TimesSelect subscriptions for all your friends and family. Did I mention the charticle? -AP
