Many conseratives don’t understand the concept of being global.
Many conservatives confuse business and politics. They believe that a political global union is a goal of the evil ones. That goal is manifest in the form of business entities with far flung operations and evil intent.
It is that fundamental misunderstanding of business in general and international trade in particular that is their error. The companies both very large and very small have one primary motivating force: expand business, make money, make profits for the owners. There are lots and lots of very small American companies with significant international operations.
The world today is joined by instantaneous communications allowing companies spread literally around the globe to have their “girls” communicate on the most mundane of business operational tasks and move stuff and money from one place to another with relative ease. There is no evil political intent, just business. An e mail chain from the office work horses on three or four continents in multiple time zones gets the job done routinely.
The concept of manufacturing in America to create American jobs is a worthwhile concept except when Americans are not economically competitive to do the job at a profit. That has been the reality for some time now. How ever, all those far flung cubical bound war horses work together to produce a purchase and a sale with wonderous economic efficiency.
Lastly, America has tremendous export manufacturing volume. We don’t export paint brushes. That has been ceded to others. We do however export complex computer controlled stuff, automatic valves, pumps, large transformers, control systems and on and on. America is where the world comes for lots of good complex stuff.
It is not political, just business
Excellent post, and I would agree....and add that there’s no logic behind the idea that certain jobs are more sacrosanct than others. Why is manufacturing a low tech low skill item more of a deserving job than all of the jobs in import/export trades....which includes the very blue collar and very (over) well paid longshoremen. There is no logic there.
Good comment, let me try to break it down so you understand where I'm coming from.
First: Yes, I do believe there are "evil ones", some here, mostly abroad, who desire some form of global political authority. They are not, mostly, businessmen.
Second, I am aware that some, perhaps most, of global economic integration has arisen spontaneously in response to the unprecedented long pause in global war and to innovative communication technologies.
Third, I believe that it is ahistorical and therefore unlikely for the global economic activity to continue at its present level without an attempt by a state or group of states to "capture" increasing advantage. In historical terms, this usually means battle fleets and large armies, but technology may have changed this, to some degree.
Fourth, I believe that other nations, especially China and Russia, but also the lesser ones like Brazil and India are raising their young with acute national consciousness while we are not. Most of the world will never be Singapore, or Hong Kong.
Fifth, I believe that as a result of 1-4 the standard of living and future prospects of many of our people is in decline, and that measures to reverse the decline are warranted.
While I do not regard America as a single celled organism, like an amoeba, I do not accept the view that we are an arbitrarily defined herd of 300 million unrelated individuals who for historical reasons live within certain GPS coordinates of no particular significance, and whose future prospects are rightly determined by competition from foreigners - no matter how much wealth is thereby generated.
What you say is primarily about business, but also “Globalization”. Politics and economy work in tandem.
Broadly, there are 4 elements I can think of right now in relation to aspects of your post:
1. Capability/Production/Operation
2. Cost (then, Price)
3. Opportunity
4. Dependency
In business terms, the U.S. is a huge market within itself.
But the U.S. is also very much dependent on opportunities outside the USA. Otherwise, the U.S. today, on the world stage, would be what it was pre-WW2 — politically, economically and socially.