I remember when I was young we frequently had discussions speculating about the possibilities of globalization and we always came back to the idea that in order to achieve globalization, the standard of living in the US would have to go down. We theorized that there simply aren't enough resources to elevate the rest of the world's living standards so this would be the only solution. Oh how we laughed, ignorant of how right we were. Now I'm watching it happen. Our children will have a lower standard of living than us, and our grandchildren even lower. And it is all done to transform the world into a suitable static equilibrium to serve as a foundation for a small minority of autocratic rulers to exploit.