It says something about the current state of the world that so many people are getting exercised about Eric Schmidt’s visit to North Korea. What’s the big deal if the executive chairman of Google decides to fly over to Pyongyang? Should it really be a matter of concern to the US State Department? What exactly is Schmidt going to be able to do during his visit that will have any kind of impact at all on US foreign policy towards North Korea?
Former US presidential candidate John McCain, has dubbed Schmidt and his companions (former governor Bill Richardson and Jared Cohen, director of Google Ideas) as "useful idiots". That sounds a bit harsh to me. Politicians aren’t averse to using the endorsement of business representatives when it suits their purpose to try and sell a particular policy, so it appears a little incongruous when they get all het up if those business representatives do something they don’t agree with.
Again, however, I come to the issue of what business it is of McCain’s or the US government if Schmidt chooses to go on a trip to another country? Why should they be bothered?
Here, I believe, we come to the meat of the matter. If you or I were to fly to Pyongyang tomorrow, no one in power would bat an eyelid. We certainly would not see newspaper articles and blogs questioning our motives, reporting negative comments from politicians about our trip or trying to uncover the motive for our journey.
So the reason why this visit is getting so much attention and focus is because it involves the executive chairman of one of the world’s most powerful and visible corporations. Now, given that Schmidt’s trip is unlikely to deliver any significant changes at a governmental level or any rapprochement between the US and North Korea, we have to wonder why it matters so much.
There are two reasons that I can see. The first is the symbolism of someone who embodies the American dream visiting a country that dubs itself (very inaccurately) as a worker’s state and which is labelled from the outside (again rather inaccurately) as one of the few remaining communist nations still in existence.
But the second, which I think is much more important, is the significance attached to the status of Schmidt as a successful and powerful businessman.
Not that many years ago when I was growing up, business was something relegated to a few pages near the back of the newspaper. It rarely, if ever, merited a mention on the evening news. Business operated in its own sphere.
While there was obviously lobbying going on by business and on behalf of business, its influence was balanced by other groups, including unions. Policy tended, as a result, to try and achieve a balance between the requirements of business and the people it employed. As the framers and deliverers of policy, politicians had a wider group of interests that they needed to be aware of to fulfil their role.
In the space of 30 years, the dynamic has shifted very markedly in favour of business. Forty or thirty years ago, Schmidt’s visit would be barely remarked upon. It’s a measure of how important business has become to our leaders, their policies and to the media that reports on them that a visit by an executive at a large US corporation to an outlaw state generates so much interest and comment. Personally, I couldn’t care less where Schmidt flies off to. What I do care about is that where Schmidt decides to fly matters so much to our politicians and media.
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