This month's column seems to have struck a sore spot with many respondents who question whether the term, "level playing field" even serves a useful purpose.
John Forsyth asks, "Is the playing field ever level in business?" Barbara Maidment comments that "The very notion of a level playing field is a myth. There never has been a level field and there never will be. . . . Let the market decide for itself and it will work out." Radhika Unni adds, "I don't think that there will ever be a level playing field. . . . That doesn't mean I feel that governments should stop the natural market dynamics, but . . . countries should (not) use the term 'level playing field' as an excuse for exploitation." Paul Jackson points out that "In this country [the United States], let alone in other countries, small businesses are not and never will be on a level playing field with big business that can spend millions, perhaps billions, to launch a new product or service."
Others set forth reasons for inequities in international competition and how they might be rectified. Andy Forbis comments that "We [the United States] are not looking at China and India as competition but as profit centers to improve our short term return on investment. We need to reexamine that paradigm. . . . Sometimes the kids in the global community don't play fair. We don't have to take our ball home. We do need to use our leverage while we still have it to make sure that everyone plays by the same standards." In commenting on "playing fields" from the viewpoint of developing economies, Ashutosh Tiwari suggests that there are two types. The first is technical. He writes, "What is common to all is access to information. But what is not common is how one's use of that information leads to prosperity. This is where the second kind of level playing field comes into play. This would include mechanisms such as ease of starting, running, and folding a business; enforcement of contracts; political stability; and access to basic infrastructure. . . ."
Yali Wei is more succinct: "The world is becoming flat only to Americans. How it will play out for America is completely up to Americans." In this regard, Nari Kannan offers a suggestion: "College costs need to be subsidized and college education encouraged, especially in math and science, so graduates will be able to compete effectively with government-subsidized colleges in India and China."
So let's assume that there is no such thing as a level playing field. Does it follow that efforts to make it more level are primarily enlightened social gestures on the part of the advantaged of the world? Or are they in the long-term best interest of those who have benefited the most from irregularities in the "field"? And just what can leaders of disadvantaged economies do on their own to improve their countries' competitive positions in the world, thereby tipping the field in their favor, without incurring the wrath of their competitors and customers? What do you think? 