Abstract:

"This documentary explores the reality that the West is losing it high technology advantage to Asia. For years the West has lost its manual jobs to low-paid Asian workers. Now Asia is winning the highly skilled jobs as well, since its educated science and technology professionals work for lower wages than are normally paid in the West. Thus European banks and airlines save money by having their computer technology developed and maintained in India. A dedicated and low-salaried technical work force has enabled South Korea's Samsung to be at the forefront in computer chip development as well as a world leader in global high technology. The documentary warns that the loss of skilled jobs will have social and political repercussions in the West. For example, European countries will no longer be able to pay for the social welfare systems that citizens have come to expect as their right. This could be a social time bomb as more people fall from the middle class into poverty. The film points out that until the Western countries instill in their youth the same zeal for education and work that their Asian counterparts demonstrate, it will lose the economic war that is based on high technology. Lucid commentary by Professor Stephane Garrelli of the World Economic Forum makes clear the complicated economic forces at work."