We don’t have to force the breakdown of globalization, it will happen spontaneously. It makes no sense for most things to be made on the other side of the planet, the only reason it happens is because it generates revenues for the oil companies and financial intermediaries.
Our economy is a system that maximizes the utilization of fossil fuels, and it’s distributed and centralized nature is designed to maximise our dependency on trade and money. Most people think it is the other way around, that some things are better made in some places than others, and therefore logistics and trade is necessary. But in reality most things we use can be made anywhere, althought maybe not with the same level of environmental care.
The migration of production to China was incentivised in the US. Yes labour was cheaper in China, but the logistics where mind boggling. How come that could be so cheap? Because the whole idea of chinese industrialization was about giving them access to fossil fuels. For years all oil was dominated by the US, up until the end of the Iraq war and the creation of China centered international trade organizations, the US called the shots. Oil was always more expensive in Asia.
In return for access to oil the West (under the umbrella of the US) enjoyed cheap products from China. Only because logistic companies made direct deals with fossil fuel companies to supply them with the bunker fuel. Companies like Maersk are essential for the ‘global economy’, even if it tries to become more and more efficient, it can never go clean (wind power or ocean algae power) because the reason these shipping companies exist is to keep the fossil fuel companies they depend on and banks that handle the cashflows in control.
Wind driven container ships mean low cost logistics. But one should wonder : why logistics at all?
As we said earlier, a trend will start now the fossil fuel resources are running low, and the game can no longer be sustained : Shipping of factories, in stead of products. What is easier than instead of distributed factories in China going through a bottleneck of a Shanghai container terminal to explode in truck transports on the other side to move those factories to where the consumers are?
Let chinese produce for china, and europeans produce for europe. Let only quality products be traded, stuff made with unique skills or insight. Not sneakers and skippy balls. This trend fits in with the drive for more renewables, who can make production of wealth independent of the now controlling factors, finance and oil/coal/gas, all for a better future.