The strengths and limits of a globalized world

Interview with Klaus-Peter Siegloch, head of ZDF's New York bureau and member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Board of Trustees

Head of the ZDF bureau in New York, Klaus-Peter Siegloch lived in the United States for an extended period in the 1990s.

How is globalization making itself felt today?
I think it is now having a more direct impact on the lives of Americans than was previously the case, even if this is not directly apparent. You can't go into a store today without being surrounded by products that globalization has made possible. This is much more evident now than in the 1990s.

Do people in the US feel they're still winners?
The feeling of only benefitting from globalization was very prevalent in the 1990s. That had to do with the dot-com boom, a bubble that later burst. Microsoft was one symbol of this development, but there were plenty of others who also made quite a bit of money all around the world. The euphoria that resulted from having the world's newest, best IT products gave globalization a positive edge. Today there is more skepticism.

Since American products are not as important now?
Americans are proud of their products, such as Levi's, to take one example. The problem is, they themselves are no longer buying Levi's, on the one hand since the Levi's brand is not as trendy as it once was and, on the other, since from an economic point of view Levi's can no longer be produced in the US. I was in one factory on the Mexican border that still manufactured a small number of very expensive jeans. There was another factory just across the border, producing mass-market goods. And even they were quickly becoming too expensive for the US market. Today they're made in China.

Has the "dream" of globalization ended?
I'm not sure that Americans really think of globalization as a dream, since it's become a very real part of their lives. Even more than in other parts of the world, people in the US are cost-conscious shoppers. Americans must come to terms with the fact that if clothes such as jeans are to be sold at a discount, then they can't be made by paying workers first-world wages. People in the US only really started to realize this when the situation began impacting the country's major industries.

Such as the declining American auto industry.
That's a long-term development in which countries such as China have played a minor role. In other areas, however, exports from abroad -- high-quality ones from Europe and cheaper once from Korea -- have proven a catastrophe for certain parts of the country such as the Midwest. One factory after the next has shut down. If there were dreams associated with globalization, then these days they include a few nightmares, since the future of many industrial sectors is now in question. That is just one of the problems that the Obama administration currently faces.

At the same time, Obama could not have been elected without the developments of the past 10 years.
American society has changed over the past decade; it's become much more open. At the same time, however, people in the US have the feeling that things are not as certain as they used to be. During his campaign, Obama gave them the feeling that he could lead them safely through this time of change. He's a symbol in that he represents a number of different cultures. Now, however, people have become a bit more realistic, understanding that he can't perform magic and just pull five million jobs out of a hat. His biggest contribution from a political and intellectual point of view was telling Americans during the campaign that they can't simply continue doing things the same way, in the area of education for example.

What needs to change?
The American educational system, for example, can be divided into two halves. One offers outstanding opportunities, has world-class universities and generates first-class research, and it attracts the brightest minds the world has to offer. The other produces too many people who can't read, write or add properly after they graduate from school. The second part is the one needing reform, since Americans will have to be better educated if they want their economy to respond to the challenges that globalization is going to pose. Only well-educated workers will have a chance of landing a job that pays decent wages. It's a discussion that has also taken place in Germany, although Germany has the advantage of having skilled workers who are relatively well trained.

Is there a willingness to learn from other countries' positive examples?
Yes and no. On the East and West Coast people of course look to Europe and Asia. But there are large sections of the country that are only concerned with what's happening locally and never consider what takes place elsewhere in the world. That has become evident during the healthcare debate, which is currently a much-discussed issue. Every European living in the United States says that something must be done about it. At the same time, it's a divisive issue, since a large part of the country is not willing to do anything to change the situation. The reason has to do with a longstanding aspect of American thought: everyone is responsible for him- or herself.

When it comes to globalization, do you feel that the United States is at a crossroads?
No, since Americans fully realize there is no alternative. They know when it comes to globalization they can't just opt out. If everything that is produced in low-wage countries were suddenly to be produced in the US, no one could afford to buy it. It's simply that attitudes have shifted, now that everyone knows how quickly jobs can be lost to globalization. Americans, however, do have a major advantage in that even in times of crisis they don't get bogged down in negative thinking. The extent to which globalization is having an impact can be seen, for example, in the efforts to rebuild the World Trade Center site.

How so?
The site is a symbol representing the United States, but all of the glass will be produced in China. At first glance it seems absurd, but there is also a lot of symbolism in that situation too. The new complex in New York is a demonstration of the country's will to survive following the horrible attacks of September 11, yet at the same time it symbolizes the impact of globalization.

Interview conducted by Tanja Breukelchen. This interview appeared in the March 2010 issue of "change - The Bertelsmann Stiftung Magazine." The magazine is available (in German) free of charge.

Klaus-Peter Siegloch
Born in Hamburg in 1946, Klaus-Peter Siegloch studied Political Science, Sociology and Economics. He began his career at the NDR broadcasting company in 1973 before moving to ZDF in 1987.  In 1991 he became head of ZDF's Bonn bureau, also taking on the position of deputy editor-in-chief in 1992. In 1994 he became bureau chief in Washington. From 1999 to 2002 he served as anchor of the 7-pm edition of the "heute" news program. From 2003 to 2007 he was the broadcaster's deputy editor-in-chief, head of the news desk for Current Affairs and host of the "heutejournal" program. In 2007 he once again served as Washington bureau chief before moving to New York at the end of 2008, where he now heads up the ZDF bureau. He is also a member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Board of Trustees.