I was tear-gassed protesting free trade. Now that Trump’s tariffs may signal the beginning of the end of globalization, do I get to say, “I told you so?"
If you’re making an argument about efficiency, the massive inefficiency of hundreds of countries making redundant efforts and frequently failing, sometimes disastrously, far outweighs the cost of transportation of most things. Ships in particular are an incredibly efficient form of bulk transport and are likely only going to get more efficient. In theory, they could be completely wind powered – they used to be, and yes that would make it less reliable and much slower but we could manage that if we needed to. Shipping can easily go green, or at least much greener than it already is, it is simply a choice, and one that we should start to make soon.
But globalization is also about so much more than just financial efficiency and energy efficiency. Globalization interconnects countries. It makes them less likely to wage war. It generally encourages the harmonization of laws and governance, it forces us to work together to find a mutually acceptable path forward and that is the right path to be going down long-term. At least when it’s not abused. True global unity is going to become an essential requirement as our civilization moves into the solar system, we will already have more than enough problems up there without bringing our old problems from down here. This is not optional, this is a mandatory stepping stone into the only future that makes sense, the only future that seems like a bright one.
If you hate the inefficiency of transporting stuff globally, you should see how wasteful war is, and then you should imagine what it would be like on an interplanetary scale.
We are all one people, it’s time we start acting like it. Globalization is one of the essential steps in doing that. We cannot skip it.
Nope. If something can be produced locally, you would pay less transportation costs.
By definition, it’s less work to access goods and services that are closer, unless your country can’t produce it, then you outsource.
If you’re making an argument about efficiency, the massive inefficiency of hundreds of countries making redundant efforts and frequently failing, sometimes disastrously, far outweighs the cost of transportation of most things. Ships in particular are an incredibly efficient form of bulk transport and are likely only going to get more efficient. In theory, they could be completely wind powered – they used to be, and yes that would make it less reliable and much slower but we could manage that if we needed to. Shipping can easily go green, or at least much greener than it already is, it is simply a choice, and one that we should start to make soon.
But globalization is also about so much more than just financial efficiency and energy efficiency. Globalization interconnects countries. It makes them less likely to wage war. It generally encourages the harmonization of laws and governance, it forces us to work together to find a mutually acceptable path forward and that is the right path to be going down long-term. At least when it’s not abused. True global unity is going to become an essential requirement as our civilization moves into the solar system, we will already have more than enough problems up there without bringing our old problems from down here. This is not optional, this is a mandatory stepping stone into the only future that makes sense, the only future that seems like a bright one.
If you hate the inefficiency of transporting stuff globally, you should see how wasteful war is, and then you should imagine what it would be like on an interplanetary scale.
We are all one people, it’s time we start acting like it. Globalization is one of the essential steps in doing that. We cannot skip it.