The Globalization Trap ​
Reclaiming American Prosperity.

This book is based on 4 themes

The rise of neoliberalism - Neoliberalism is an ideology that emphasizes globalism, free trade, privatization, and deregulation. The idea emerged in the mid-20th century, and became a US economic policy when multinational corporations, with the support of the U.S. government, adopted neoliberalism and globalism and began outsourcing to low-cost countries in the 1970s. It is not a program based on economic theory: it is political agenda based on free markets where there are definite winners and losers

Decline of the middle class - Many economists claimed that free trade and imports would lead to increasing wages and living standards. However, globalization and outsourcing caused regression to the mean (RTM), which pitted American workers against low wage workers around the world. Regression to the mean was a disaster for the American middle class, particularly workers with a high school diploma or less, where it became a race to the bottom. Globalization and the rise of neo liberalism as a political ideology turned out to be a trap where the average middle-class citizen bore the brunt of the economic crisis through job losses, stagnant wages, and not being able to keep up with inflation

The failure of the service economy - Many economists and academics jumped on the “postindustrial service” bandwagon and convinced themselves and most citizens that the transition to a service economy is a good and inevitable thing. These same economists also, believed that the service economy and cheap imported goods would provide economic growth, good jobs, and improved living standards for the middle class. But it just didn’t happen for millions of workers. If the transition to a service economy was such a good idea, you should ask yourself, why are so many people unhappy with their income and living standards and fearful of the future? The price of cheap imported goods was simply not enough to offset the stagnant wages and rising living costs of most workers. The costs of buying a home, paying for college, buying a car, obtaining healthcare, affording day care, and retiring have become problematic. For many in the middle class it has become a race to the bottom.

Many post-election surveys in 2025 indicate that the number one problem for working-class and union workers was inflation and the cost of living (Affordability). Today millions of middleclass citizens are worried about rising prices and inflation as was evident in the 2024 election when they voted their pocket book.

Reclaiming prosperity - The good news is that globalization is fracturing driven by the implementation of Trump’s tariffs, which are dividing the globalized world into separate trading blocs. I think it is still possible to create an economy with wages rising faster than inflation but we need to bring manufacturing back to the US, reduce our trade deficit, and protect our industries and technologies. The fracturing of globalization has provided an opportunity for a new industrial policy and plan that can reverse the decline of the middle class. Trump’s tariffs were a good first step in using tariffs to level the trading playing field and protect our manufacturing industries and technologies. But the real answer not just a reliance on tariffs but to commit to production, not consumption, and use the elements of productivism to develop a comprehensive plan including dollar realignment.

This book describes an industrial plan that includes targeted industries, tariffs, tax credits, quotas, technology protection, and training.
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