Tom Friedman’s latest book, “The World is Flat,” is filled with nuggets from business, government and education leaders worldwide describing the new world order. It portrays a vision of what we could become and what it will take for us to get there.

Many of us in technology are aware of Friedman’s 10 “flatteners,” which have shrunk the globe and smashed barriers that once made us seem invincible. Flatteners include our computing and communications technologies that have undermined the old geopolitical structures. Our dot-com boom created a global network of nearly unlimited bandwidth. Common computer interfaces, such as e-mail, the Web browser and voice over IP, provide global communication for everyone at practically no cost.

As a result, anyone anywhere can compete for certain jobs, and to remain competitive, companies must employ a global force that is starving for a chance at these jobs. Everyone is on a level playing field. The world is flat.

But that’s just the first wave. Innovations such as workflow software let teams of software writers, designers and engineers collaborate without a thought to borders, exchange rates, trade agreements or tariffs.

Our politicians argue over minutia rather than engage in the bold thinking necessary to ensure America remains competitive in 50 years. An example is an amendment to the Homeland Security Department authorization bill proposed by Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.). The bill would preclude the department from buying anything with less than 50 percent U.S.-made content. 

I suppose it looks good to the folks back home that their representative has the courage to stand up to the forces of globalization, outsourcing, off-shoring, in-shoring and all the other flatteners now a reality.

Friedman would say that the horse has already left the barn. The high-tech gear that DHS is buying is no longer assembled in the United States . It was designed, engineered and marketed from here. It is made of components that come from a dozen countries and will be sold worldwide to economies that are growing faster than ours.

People who are the most productive and cost the least will handle any step in the supply chain that can be digitized or reduced to a rote process. Our only hope is to be the ones who invent the next generation of technology.

How can we get politicians such as Manzullo to start thinking about making the smart investments in our society to ensure that we will stay on top economically? What does our future look like?

The second half of Friedman’s book is explicit: Our future could be bright or it could fade, depending on the choices we make now. There is still opportunity for America to lead a global economy that will multiply many times in the next few generations. But unless we make the investments necessary to continue producing valuable intellectual property, our position of strength will devolve to those who are willing to work harder for less.

Our youth need to become what Gartner calls “versalists,” people who develop deep skills and then apply them across an ever-widening scope of situations, gaining new competencies, building relationships and assuming new roles.

This will not be easy. Friedman suggests that we need a wake-up call to unite our country around a common threat. He has sounded the alarm, and we need politicians who can put this in terms that can be embraced by all of us. We don’t have a moment to lose.

Steve Charles is co-founder of immixGroup, a government business-consulting firm in McLean , Va. Steve welcomes your comments at steve_charles@immixgroup.com.