A Chinese investor reacts as she walks out from a private securities company Friday(5) in Shanghai, China: "Every human being now has no choice but to give a damn for the global economy. The time to understand the new world is now."

Since this book was first written five years ago, there have been several developments in the new global economy and the new post 9/11 world. The most critical among them, Senator Barak Obama is now President-elect Barak Obama! Whoever thought two years ago, even one year ago, that the USA would create history and elect it’s first African-American President? Yes, I can say it now: President-Elect Barak HUSSEIN Obama? Unthinkable a year ago! Some in the USA even made fun of his middle name! Ironically, this middle name may just make a difference in the Moslem world and how the world sees the "New America"! What a remarkable story! What a remarkable man! Only in America can this happen! It appears that in one swoop, the USA appears to have absolved itself of one of it’s ugly sins! The tears in the faces of Reverend Jesse Jackson and so many African-American people and others, told us the story. It makes every American, including me, so very proud and humble. Expectations of the new President are at an all time high. Now the world waits for him to deliver. President-Elect Barak Obama IS the new leader of the free world! The world is still in shock. And I believe a real welcome shock! In the USA, people who never voted before, voted for the first time. Over two-thirds of the 19 to 30 year olds voted for him. The USA and the entire world is now ecstatic. Former General Colin Powell, who endorsed Barak Obama, on seeing the ecstatic celebrations on the streets of America, likened them to the emotions expressed at the dawn of the millennium! Some even referred to Obama as the "New Mandela"! Now he must deliver. To date, President-elect Obama has made some exceptional appointments to his team of economic and national security advisors. He is not President yet but consider the shock of Mumbai What a welcome party for the new President from those who despise everything civilization holds sacred! But President-elect Obama often reminds us: "We have only one President at a time". Very true. But he must hit the ground running on January 20, 2009. He has not even begun.

One chapter in this book is titled "Why the world loves and hates the USA". President-elect Obama has pledged to address this problem. The challenges that face him are daunting. The election of Barak Hussein Obama must make every Sri Lankan and every person outside the USA to now "give a damn for the USA and the new global economy".

The global economy has got more "unequal" with the gap between those who have and those who don’t only increasing. Then again, this is not new. Man’s greed is as old as time. One of the world’s best thinkers came out with the idea of a "flat" world. Much as we like it to be, the world is not really flat. To Asian powerhouses like the Tata’s, the Reliance Group and Infosys in India, and their peers in Asia and Latin America, globalization or the "flat" world, continues to bring great rewards. Whoever thought, when this book was first written, that iconic brands like Jaguar and Land Rover would one day be owned by the Tata’s! But to those untouched by the wave of globalization, the world is anything but flat or even fair. They continue to struggle to survive on less that USD2 or even USD1 a day. Many of them still live under incredible injustice and oppression. Witness the unfolding tragedy of countries like Zimbabwe. Where are nations like Pakistan and Sri Lanka heading? In Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated and the US’s strongest ally in the fight against terrorism, Pervez Musharaff, has been compelled to resign with the very real threat of impeachment. He is gone. Benazir’s husband is now President. He is now in the hot seat after the attacks in Mumbai which, we are now told, was carried out by Pakistanis. Consider India, where despite it’s technological prowess, over 400 million still live in abysmal poverty and over 800 million live on less than USD2 a day (40 times the population of Sri Lanka)! Underlying tensions simmer. The future of the government of it’s very able Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, hangs on a fragile coalition. The Mumbai attacks have shaken his government. With the 2008 Olympics, China is got unprecedented attention, with human rights groups watching it’s every move. The opening of the games in Beijing was a spectacle never seen before and a very tough act to follow. While the world was fixated on this spectacle, Russia walked into Georgia, reigniting the cold war rhetoric. And we thought this war was over! An energy pipeline running through Georgia appears to have played a role. Welcome to the new global economy with incredible opportunities and unprecedented dangers!

The mortgage and other crises in the principal driver of the global economy, the USA, continue to worsen. We are now told that the USA recession began a year ago. The condition and future of the US economy has sent ripples around the world. In the end of September 2008, we saw the collapse of global financial powerhouses in the USA. The world’s markets and mainstream Americans were counting on the US Congress passing an immediate USD700 billion rescue package. Anger and emotions were and still are running high. The Dow dropped over 600 points in one day. The rescue package was initially defeated by the House. Rescue Plan B passed the Senate and all eyes were on the House of Representatives to pass the bill. It did. The legislators had to choose between the lesser of two evils; to do nothing and risk further catastrophe, or to do something and hopefully prevent further bleeding. Whoever thought that the number one global banking giant would be on the edge with it’s stock price dropping to USD4 a share! It is now being rescued. Next in line are the big three automakers! No one knows who is next! What a year! The impact of all this, in the principal driver of the global economy, for good or ill, is undisputed. This is the new evolving global economy.

On top of this, we saw the highest oil prices in memory. It has now dropped. 88 million barrels are consumed every day with 45% being consumed by the G8 countries, the world’s most powerful nations! India, China and emerging nations are only worsening the situation. On July 9, 2008, cab drivers in Berlin, Germany, many in Mercedes Benz cabs, were honking their horns to protest rising fuel prices. In the same year, Exxon Mobil made a profit of USD1300 every second which translates to USD4 million a day or USD1.2 billion a month! The vast masses at the "bottom of the pyramid" continue their struggle for survival and to get from point A to point B.

There is also a global food crisis. Everyone is affected by the new developments in the global economy whether they accept it or not. No one knows where this is all heading. The global airline industry is in deep shock. I see the effect in my constant transpacific flights and flights within the USA. I now have to buy a sandwich on board a flight from Los Angeles to Chicago for USD7! Thank God the sodas are still free! The future of major global airlines is at stake. Several years ago, the Los Angeles Times magazine ran a cover story: "Will a Starbucks open on Mars?". Today, even Starbucks is in trouble closing hundreds of stores in the USA!

The wealthy and powerful somehow make it no matter what the situation. The middle class is squeezed. The poor are left numb and often are forced to take to the streets or even to crime. What would we do?

It has been tempting to blame the USA for all these ills. No more. This is a global crisis not primarily caused by the USA. True, the war in Iraq, has destabilized the world. But the oil and food crisis is a totally different story. The unrelenting thirst for oil from giants like China and India, and the USA of course, continues to bring unprecedented profits to oil companies and oil producing countries.

We could go on and on. The reader is still left with the same question that was at the core of this book five years ago. How does each individual live his or her life in this new world, where the rich only get richer, where the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen, where the middle class get more squeezed daily and where almost 75% of humanity lives on less than USD2 a day? How do nations position themselves in this new economy? What are you as an individual going to do with the rest of your life? How are you going to make a real difference?

The USA remains the most powerful and controversial nation in the world. The author, in a very simple and personal manner, attempts to help the reader understand the nature of the relationship between the USA and the "rest of the world". With all it’s flaws, the American business model, still stands tall. Over 80% of the world’s most admired brands are American. The economic success of cities like Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Dubai and even Bangalore are inextricably tied to the American business model. The British, Chinese, Japanese, German, Canadian and other economies are closely tied to the US economy in this new world. The world’s most envied centers of learning in virtually every field are either in the USA or heavily influenced by the USA. Consider the leading universities in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and now China. The author, a management educator and consultant, firmly believes that this model must be adapted to the local culture anywhere in the world. This is what these nations and cities have done.

What then is at the root of the worldwide resentment, frustration or even anger toward the USA? It is the manner in which the foreign policy of America is practiced in many parts of the world which changes with each occupant of the White House. Perception is reality. Today, the perception of the "toughest guy on the block" is pretty bad. The USA is perceived as a big bully. So many are looking to China to take on America! Americans themselves, the vast majority of whom are really good and decent people, have really not understood the world. They want to. Within America itself there is a thirst for change. Witness the "movement" created by then Presidential candidate Barak Obama. Now he is President-Elect Barak Obama.

The increasing relevance and importance of this book for everyone in any corner of the world is best described by Dr. Frank Morgan, former Global Head of Leadership, Dow Chemical and Professor of Management at the prestigious Kenan-Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: "Globalization and September 11 are but two reasons this book is important. Mr. Muttukumaru has written a very provocative and inspiring book that will make you consider the role of America and Americans and every citizen of the world in these turbulent times".

The future of a nation like Sri Lanka and so many others lies in the hands of it’s future leaders, the youth of today. Listen to the words of one, then 20 year old Ms. Aaysha Cader, expressed when this book was first written which still applies today: "If you want to learn about world affairs and the global economy, and how it affects your life and future, this book is a goldmine. The author has taken a very complex and current topic and deeply personalized it with his own experiences. It is admirably written and is a very easy read for my generation and just about anybody. It is inspiring".