TURKU, Finland - Jobs will vanish as business makes the transition to a new digital model - but in the long run, the New Order of Things will create even more employment positions, Clinton administration Net czar Ira Magaziner told a global meeting on the development of electronic commerce.
"Millions of jobs will be lost, but millions more will be created," Magaziner said today, repeating a stand he has championed in the White House: that governments needed to allow markets to break down barriers to Internet commerce, even though employment would often be thrown into turmoil as the information society causes the same kind of upheaval as the Industrial Revolution. "Training and education will be needed for the transition - this is crucially important."
Speaking at the beginning of a three-day meeting sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Magaziner cited five principles for successful electronic commerce:
- The private sector must lead. Government is important, but it is the nature of the digital economy that if government seeks too much control or leadership, development will slow down.
- The market must drive events, not regulation. The Internet, unlike old government-managed telecommunications regimes, is based on tough competition. A whole range of different company sectors must build the infrastructure.
- Any action taken by government must be specific, precise, and transparent. Government must give the market a chance to work out problems first.
- Respect the nature of the new technology. Attempts to control from the center will be impossible.
- Globalization. This trend has been developing for almost 50 years, and will be taken to a new level by the Internet.
