The soon-to-be-sworn-in Biden/Harris team is All-In on Interconnectedness and Globalism. That’s a direct result of their underlying philosophy.
Leftists always move in the direction of collaboration and shared governance. It’s who they are. They cannot see any downsides of entwining their political and economic structures with those of other nations. In fact, they’d be Tickled Pink-o to see an eventual blending of all governments into One World Government.
For those of you who, like me, enjoyed the Isaac Asimov Foundation series, that would seem to be the proper goal of a truly Evolved Mankind - to eventually join consciousness into one Quasi-Organism, whose every living cell was dedicated to the Betterment of Humanity through enmeshment.
But, since then, I’ve had more experience with the world. Unlike your family, not every person has the best interests of others in mind.
Indeed, some of them actually USE others to get what they want - to the detriment of those individuals.
Yes, it happens in families, too. But the effects of that treachery is greater outside of the relationship circle.
For instance, most families (excluding those of organized crime) have relatively little power to deny you work, schooling, or freedom of association. They can’t - generally - take money you’ve earned for their own purposes (ex-spouses excluded).
But the It’s-Good-For-You Mafia can - and does.
Thanks to the entertwined nature of the Net, it’s entirely possible for that group (let’s call them the IGFY Mafia) to use their power to keep you from getting a job, a business loan or permit, or a fresh start in a new location.
They can isolate other family members, exclude them from participation in civic activities, and even directly threaten their lives.
And, if the police are controlled by your ideological enemies, they can even sic them on you in your own home (Look up SWATTING).
On the other hand, you can go too far in your quest for independence. You might become a virtual hermit - and, whether in modern times or ancient, hermits do have a tendency to get a teeny bit unbalanced in their thinking.
Isolation from others - that is, deliberate refusal to engage with other people outside of a very small circle - goes against the nature of humans. We are meant to interact with others. That group with which we have relationships may be relatively small - 100-250 or so - but getting outside of that close knit home family is important.
Trust me on this. MANY of my friends and family have found that, although their closest and dearest companions have been a blessing in many ways, still all are feeling the need to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE AND AWAY FROM THEM.
In these COVID times, we crave the freshness that some familial distance would bring. We want that chance to have a conversation (NOT virtual) with a good friend. We want to go outside for fun, shopping, or a meal.
It has to be a balance.
And, so it is for nations, as well.
We have to strike a balance between being too insular and self-sufficient, and too dependent on others. Trade can be a good thing, leading to mutually beneficial interactions. Trade can be bad, if it’s all extractive, and brings little money to the originating nation.
Looking at price is seldom the best strategy, whether in person affairs, or national. Price just shows you what the out of pocket expense was; it doesn’t look at the long-term cost of that purchase.
So, the USA outsourced basic industries - electronics, textile, manufacture of consumer goods, medications, and a whole lot more. In return, they got cheap crap (often bypassing consumer protection laws), and lost jobs for the lower classes.
But, hey, stuff’s cheap, right?
Not necessarily. Many corporations have found the tradeoffs not worth it.
They have put us into a hostage position, where access to medications is concerned - either we trade with those who would put slaves to work, or we may have the supply chain interrupted.
We have to supply income, in the form of public benefits, for those now-unemployed workers. Benefit is to corporations, cost is to the public taxpayer.
We have to endure phone and internet support by those with imperfect command of colloquial English. It can be maddening, particularly to those with hearing impairments, using a non-standard dialect, or non-native English speakers.
American citizens who have worked to gain skills and education find that positions are going to foreigners - who are underpaid, all of it legally authorized by the Globalists of government.
When we protest, we are told we are un-American and racist, to boot. And, most recently, the Leftist story is that any protest against their control is Domestic Terrorism.
There seems to be no easy solution for these problems. We’ve tried voting and using the system. The Deep State, the Media, and the Tech Empire have all conspired against that effort.
The only thing I can suggest is: prepare for the worst, but work for the best outcome.