In the 1980s, Western countries distanced themselves from state-controlled economies and embraced neoliberalism, where the market was given free rein. This philosophy encouraged outsourcing manufacturing to low-wage countries, causing millions of jobs in the West to vanish.
Fast-forward to the 2020s, and the downsides of neoliberalism have become starkly evident. The Western working class now faces stagnating wages and fewer opportunities than previous generations. But a new concern is emerging: by allowing China to dominate global manufacturing, the West has also inadvertently boosted China’s technological power on the world stage.
