Some people just can't let go of the good old days when We were the good guys and They were the bad guys. In War by Other Means: Economic Espionage in America, John Fialka writes an account of economic espionage - They (Chinese, Japanese, Germans, French, et cetera) are treacherously stealing Our (American) technology and jobs. That Chinese student down the hall is not some hard-working slob trying to get ahead, but a tool of Beijing, exploiting America's openness. Instead of a commie under every rock, this time it's an industrial spy.
No doubt most of the stories in this admittedly riveting read are true. Corporations often go to unsavory lengths to get hold of technology - even American companies, although arguably on a lesser scale. In Fialka's view, the foreign devils aren't just competing, they're siphoning off jobs, Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Trying to get an edge on overseas competitors is a national security issue, not just a commercial one.
Hogwash! Every marketplace is inherently global these days, no matter how much cold warriors like Fialka want to think otherwise. Foreign corporations are just as unlikely to stay home as American ones. Competing in a global marketplace means, well, competing. Or cooperating. Nowhere does the book mention the possibility of investing in firms around the world, or setting up joint ventures where Their success is also Our success. Luckily, many business leaders already have clued into this potential, so it's difficult these days to identify companies like Unilever, Ford, News Corporation, or Sony with just one nation.
The primary value of this book is educating executives in what it's like in the real world. It ain't smart to dump trade secrets in the trash, or talk about sensitive subjects on a cell phone. Forget the xenophobic crap about revoking visas and erecting tariff walls, however. Leave dumb ideas like these where they belong - in the museum.
##### War by Other Means: Economic Espionage in America, by John J. Fialka: US$25. W. W. Norton & Company: +1 (212) 354 5500, on the Web at web.wwnorton.com/.
STREET CRED
Visualize TufteShort Attention Span Theater
Economic Espionage
