Developed vs. Developing

If you ask Robert Herbold, it’s easy to see which country – the U.S. or China – is developed, and which one is still developing. 

In a recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal, Herbold noted that

“Recently I flew from Los Angeles to China to attend a corporate board-of-directors meeting in Shanghai, as well as customer and government visits there and in Beijing. After the trip was over, in thinking about the United States and China, it was not clear to me which is the developed, and which is the developing, country.”

So begins a guest editorial by Robert Herbold, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati. The retired chief operating officer of Microsoft and current managing director of the Herbold Group, LLC, makes the case that China is one-upping the U.S., thanks to the country’s commitment to infrastructure, strong government leadership and an aggressive five year plan that seeks to improve innovation, the country’s environmental footprint and jobs creation.

Furthermore, Herbold argues, politicians and voters alike must, “snap to and realize they are getting beaten,” by polarizing issues and government red tape.

You can read the entire editorial here.

As an institution dedicated to the pursuit of academics and learning, we must pose the same question Herbold asked in his editorial:  Is the U.S. being passed by because it is developed, instead of developing? And if so, as Herbold asks, “Why is this occurring and what should the U.S. do?”

Make your points in the comments below.