Ok, so which way should the economy be shaped in the long term after we dig ourselves out of this painful global recession? Should we go towards globalization again? Or, as a new idea, head in the opposite direction towards protectionism and the end, or at least reduction, of globalization? Unfortunately, I don't know enough to give the pros and cons of each position, but I'm sure you have your own opinion on the matter?
I don’t know for sure myself, but I was listening to this earlier today. They seem to think globalization is coming to an end. It was an Interesting conversation.
It is clear that we need to source as many products as possible locally to minimize their carbon footprint. One of the benefits of high fuel prices is that it often make domestically produced goods more competitive.For some that have very high shipping costs, like turbines for wind generators, there is a definitive cut off. At a certain price for fuel, it is no longer feasible to ship them from China or Denmark or other foreign producers, to the US. It certainly doesn't make sense environmentally to ship products like carrots or tomatoes from Southern Mexico or Central America if you can grow them in California. But the cost of labor beats the prices of fuel. And we have seen how our national defense and defense-critical products like computer chips are put at risk by outsourcing. Who the hell thinks our potential enemies should be making chips we need for our most advanced military technology?
There must be a global effort to see materialism for what it is and true human worth as the only real value.
