Kass: We Are the World

This blog post originally appeared on RealMoney Silver on Feb. 16 at 8:19 a.m. EST.

More than any other time in history, we exist in a global platform that has permitted more people to plug and play, collaborate and compete, share knowledge and share work. But, the hidden hand and interlinked nature of the markets and economies almost never work without a hidden fist. A world as one has an upside and a potential downside as we have witnessed throughout the recession and most recently concerning Greece's sovereign debt issue.

"If you don't visit the bad neighborhoods, the bad neighborhoods are going to visit you."

-- Thomas Friedman

Back in 2005, Thomas Friedman wrote the international bestselling book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, which analyzed the trend in globalization in the early twenty-first century. The title was a metaphor for viewing the world as a level playing field in terms of commerce, where all competitors have an equal opportunity. The title also alludes to the perceptual shift required for countries, companies and individuals to remain competitive in a global market where historical and geographical divisions are becoming increasingly irrelevant.

It is abundantly clear that, over time, the world's markets and businesses have become increasingly connected and interdependent. With advances in telecommunications infrastructure and the rise of the Internet, the process has been accelerating rather dramatically over the past 15 years as technological and financial innovations make it much easier for people around the globe to communicate, to travel and to participate in international commerce.

"No man is an island, entire of itself ... any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

-- John Donne

Interconnectivity in a linked world is not a novel concept. For example, from your high school days, you might recall the quotation above from late-sixteenth / early-seventeenth century English poet John Donne.