On the subject of globalization, ‘achilles’ writes

There is a burgeoning movement that seeks to blame rising unemployment in the United States on the “export” of jobs to cheaper lands overseas. That is version 2.0 of the old mindset that led people to blame unemployment on the purchases of cheaper foreign goods by consumers.

Imposing tariffs to protect domestic industry by forcing consumers to buy more expensive domestic goods was short-sighted (and counterproductive) economic policy then, imposing limits on the ability of domestic firms to hire or relocate thus forcing them to pay higher labor costs is just as short-sighted now.

We should encourage manufacturing to be done in China, just as much as we should encourage basic data processing to be done in India. Having two billion more prosperous people will do a world of good to the U.S. in the long run.

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