ROBERT RUBIN IS A STUD
Our Shrinking World Creates A Greater Need for Global Awareness

Since I have some time before breakfast, I wanted to write a short comment on Robert Rubin's new book, "In An Uncertain World." I was reading an excerpt in this week's Newsweek on the flight from Seoul to Los Angeles for my trip to this year's Comdex. The former Chairman of Goldman Sachs and U.S. Treasury Secretary is simply a brilliant man. I honestly don't know the extent of his intellect, but in terms of what he reflects in his speeches, writing, and professional accomplishments are rarely match.

While I was reading the excerpt, it made me realize how little the average American knows about the interdependence of nations in our world today. Actions even within a smaller economy, such as Brazil, can create a chain reaction that affects the U.S. and the rest of the world.

"To me, the events of those years lead to four important points. The most straightforward of these is the international interdependence that results from greatly increased integration of trade and capital markets - and how little understood that interdependence is. I remember Pedro Malan, the finance minister of Brazil, telling me in October 1998 how difficult it was to explain to his people that their currency was under attack and interest rates were higher in part because the Russian Duma had failed to raise taxes. The global crisis underscored the reality that in an economically integrated world, prosperity in faraway countries can create opportunities elsewhere, but instability in a distant economy can also create uncertainty and instability at home."

These are not new ideas, but Rubin is the type of man that can convey this knowledge to a wider audience than some University of Chicago economics professor. This led me to think that the study of global interdependence should be a required curriculum in our high schools today. A reading and analysis of the growing economic, cultural, and social interdependence should be at least a part of a world civilization or another social science course that is typically within the freshman curriculum. Many Americans are truly ignorant of the world beyond their nation, state, city, or even backyard. For individuals and our nation to make a greater impact in the future, our citizens need to realize how truly connected and dependent we are with every human being in the world today.