***Update 2/3/20*** Covid-19 has proven this point now. With China's factories shutting doors to contain the spread of the virus, we are seeing global supply chains disrupted with no country escaping unscathed... ***End of update***
I had foreseen the "single-use plastic" and "single-season clothing" were to be global issues a few years before them actually happening but never documented it anywhere. Not to say that I'm a futurist and in that time I'm sure thousands of others would have thought the same, if not more.
I write of another impending issue for countries around the world for the upcoming future. One that is surely on the minds of many.
We talk about security in many aspects - water, food, energy, border and cyber. I do not doubt the gravity of those issues but another aspect of security for countries is silently being neglected - manufacturing.
It is a major concern when up to 90% of a specific good is made in one country. We have no one to blame but ourselves when we're all pushing to buy cheap, cheaper and cheapest. There's no way to fight it as that's how the economy and finances work and a country is smart enough to capitalise on that.
While it can't be said that it certainly will or will not happen but if the country should decide one day to close its factory to a specific country or the whole world, that country or the world will have massive issues with providing goods for their nation. A scary thought for any country, no matter how great they may think they are.
