Doomed to Failure
A lesson in international instruction
While attending a senior management course (Intermaster) in London years ago, one of the visiting lecturers was a professor from Switzerland.
The distinguished professor told us that, based upon his studies, the current societies of Germany and Japan were doomed to the same fate as the Roman Empire and the Egyptian Empire before.
Because, according to his theory, their demise was brought about by the decline in birthrate below a sustainable population replacement rate, thus creating an upside-down pyramid shape of the population, e.g., not enough ‘workers’ to support the aging population.
When raising my hand, (the only so-called ‘ugly’ American in attendance) he displayed an emotional irritation with my interruption.
Pointing out to him that the US birth rate, according to his data chart, was also below his 2.0 sustainability population rate why wasn’t the US included in his theory?
Brushing me off by saying that he didn’t feel the US had quite reached the same status of the Japanese or the Germans in terms of having relevance to the Roman or Egyptian civilizations.
….laughs all around!
Sitting back and listening, it was abundantly clear that everyone else in the room thought my interruption and questioning was extremely rude for such a notable lecturer.
A little later into his continuing lecture, my hand raised again. Another question.
Most of the other participants felt again it was rude by doing so and the action was maintaining the characteristic behavior of the ‘ugly American’.
The professor had just made the statement that there was no solution to this low birthrate situation.
"These advanced civilizations in Japan and Germany are doomed."
"These advanced civilizations in Japan and Germany are doomed."
After reluctantly acknowledging my waving arm, it was suggested that I disagreed with his hypothesis.
He was really offended, stating that his data certainly supported his conclusions and that his "Doctorate" was based upon this very study.
“Well, regardless, the US and Canada are not going to suffer the same fate, even though our birthrate is also below 2.0”
He asked, dripping with sarcasm, what we could possibly be doing ‘over there’ that would change the outcome that is so obvious from his data analysis.
“We’ve solved the sustained population problem by opening our borders to immigrants. We don’t close our society to the rest of the world like Japan and Germany, and other countries for that matter, rather we keep an adequate ‘future labor supply’ by allowing almost anyone to enter the country, and more importantly, to stay. In the early days that supply came from Europe, but nowadays it mostly comes from south of the border.”
He was speechless, …absolutely lost for words.
Too me the solution was rather obvious.
I left the class, at the request of the monitor, obviously irritating everyone else in attendance with my, too them, unprofessional, disrespectful behavior.
On balance however, two days later a visiting American professor gave the worst lecture I had ever seen/heard.
The subject was about the problems of merging companies.
The lecturer placed photocopy transparencies of pages from a textbook he'd written on an overhead projector and proceeded to read from them, word for word. With his back to us attending.
Raising my hand, the course monitor, anticipating another disruption, waved me off, but persisting, he eventually alerted the speaker, who still maintained his position with back to the attendees, that there was a question from the audience.
I asked the visiting American professor if he were going to “read” all the pages to us?
He acknowledged he was.
"Just send me a copy, then, I can read it myself." and left.
"Just send me a copy, then, I can read it myself."
Obviously, persona non grata among the other attendees after those two incidents my presence was no longer necessary at the next and last session later in the year,
Still eligible, though, to receive my certificate for completion of the course.
Funny how that works.