好萊塢式成見阻礙經濟合作
????演員克林特?伊斯特伍德在上世紀60年代的一部電影《黃金三鏢客》(The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)中扮演了一位獨行俠,在尋找被盜黃金的過程中,與殘忍的賞金獵人和墨西哥惡棍斗智斗勇。在電影里,我們一眼就能分辨出好人和壞人。然而隨著西部片時代的結束,善惡的界限開始變得模糊。 ????這部電影提醒我們,人們總傾向于對事物形成刻板的印象。最近,在尼泊爾加德滿都的一次會議上,我談到了企業在幫助當地經濟發展、創造就業和消除貧困中的重要性。會議由國際山地綜合發展中心(International Center for Integrated Mountain Development,ICIMOD)主辦。這個究中心主要研究興都庫什-喜馬拉雅山脈地區的發展問題,其中包括中國、印度、尼泊爾、阿富汗和不丹。 ????一位與會者在得知我來自私營部門后,對我說:“哦,那你就是反派。”對于這種說法,我更多的是感到有趣而不是吃驚;從我在美國多個政府部門工作和擔任公司高管的經歷中,我發現,不管你選擇什么職業,人們總是會對它抱著一定的成見:私營部門一直給人利益至上的形象,不可能做什么好事;而公共部門則往往與腐敗掛鉤,非營利部門卻被打上了天真的標簽。 ????這些成見非常普遍,而且經常會阻礙經濟發展。喜馬拉雅地區的私營部門、公共部門和非營利部門如果能相互合作,必將更有效地消除貧困。然而,盡管亞太其他地區正在蓬勃發展,但喜馬拉雅地區的不同部門卻遲遲不能跳出政治和紛爭的局限,精誠合作。政治與紛爭是這個區域大部分地區始終不能擺脫貧困的主要原因。說了這么多公私合作消除貧困的話,如果我們能夠放下成見和相互指責,這個貧困的山區必將從中受益。《壞人、腐敗分子與天真的人》作為一部影片的名字或許會非常有意思,但對于建立推動合作關系所需的信任來說,卻非常不利。 ????交通不便和脆弱貧瘠的農業生態系統長期困擾著山區,因此我們必須更好地為他們服務。ICIMOD已經邁出了第一步,其他機構如果明智地話,應該馬上跟進,尋求私營部門的合作。西方國家的商會和公司代表往往更愿意尋找共同的機會和共同關注的領域。同樣,企業界也應該樂于傾聽來自當地居民和政府的意見,以及其產品與服務的影響,尤其是對社會弱勢群體成員的影響;應該讓公司與發展社區共同支持調查研究,以制定出切實可行、腳踏實地的措施,幫助當地消除貧困。 ????我們必須超越成見,以及對政治和商業的固有看法。只有這樣,我們才能將亞洲的經濟發展擴展到喜馬拉雅山脈地區,讓這個地區最重要的利益相關者,也就是一直以來都把興都庫什-喜馬拉雅山脈地區視為自己的家園人們,能夠從中受益。(財富中文網) ????陳天宗曾在巴拉克?奧巴馬和喬治?W?布什任美國總統期間(2007 - 2010)擔任美國駐亞洲開發銀行大使。目前擔任咨詢公司RiverPeak Group, LLC常務董事。???? 譯者:劉進龍/汪皓 ????
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????In the 1960s film, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," actor Clint Eastwood plays a loner fighting off a ruthless bounty hunter and a Mexican bandit in pursuit of stolen gold. It's pretty easy to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys, but as the Western plays out, those lines start to blur. ????The film reminds us of our tendencies to form stereotypes. Recently, I spoke at a conference in Kathmandu, Nepal about the importance of business involvement in helping local economies grow, create jobs and fight poverty. It was hosted by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a research center studying development across the mountainous Hindu Kush-Himalayan region that includes China, India, Nepal, Afghanistan and Bhutan. ????One participant declared, 'Oh, you're one of the bad guys,' after learning that I was from the private sector. I was more amused than surprised by the remark; having worked in government under several U.S. administrations, and as a corporate executive, I realize stereotypes follow whichever career path you choose: The private sector has been cast as profit-driven folks unlikely to do good in the world; the public sector has been called corrupt, while the not-for-profit sector has been labeled na?ve. ????As common as these stereotypes might be, they get in the way of economic development. The private, public and not-for-profit players in the Himalayan region can fight poverty better together, but they've been slow to come together and move beyond the politics and discord that keep far too much of the region poor, even as other parts of the Asia-Pacific see robust growth. With so much talk about how public-private partnerships could combat poverty, the impoverished mountain regions will benefit if we move beyond stereotypes and finger-pointing. "The Bad, the Corrupt and the Naive" may well be an interesting title for an upcoming film, but that's no prescription for building the kind of trust needed to move partnerships forward. ????We must better serve mountain communities often plagued by inaccessibility and fragile or poor agricultural ecosystems. ICIMOD has taken a first step and others would be smart to follow by beginning to seek the perspectives of the private sector. Chambers of commerce and individual business representatives from western countries are often more than willing to explore shared opportunities and areas of concern. Likewise, corporations should be open to listen to the views of residents and government about their practices and the impact of their products and services, particularly on the most vulnerable members of society; one idea is to have both business and development communities support research that will lead to actionable, on-the-ground efforts to fight poverty in the region. ????We must move beyond stereotypes, as well as politics and the business as usual mindset. Doing so is essential to extend Asia's economic growth to this mountain region's most important stakeholders – namely, the people who have long called the Hindu Kush-Himalaya their home. ????Curtis S. Chin, a former US ambassador to the Asian Development Bank under Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush (2007-2010), is managing director of advisory firm RiverPeak Group, LLC. Follow him on Twitter at @CurtisSChin. |