I meant security less in the armed conflict sense, more in the less vulnerable to disruption sense. It does make sense to retain a food production sector, and a manufacturing sector for important goods like pharmaceuticals - because countries are likely to prioritise themselves in times of scarcity or crisis. I agree that interdependence is good for avoiding conflict.
I think this independence is an illusion in the current globalised environment and it would be very difficult to attain it even for a very large country like the US (and completely out of reach for small countries).
Let’s take the example of food. Does your country depend on imports of fertiliser? What about animal feed (soy beans)? I am guessing the answer to both these questions yes.
The point is, we are in this together. For a small nation this is trivially obvious, but larger nations like to pretend they can do things alone. And then you get people like Trump that play on these sentiments.
I meant security less in the armed conflict sense, more in the less vulnerable to disruption sense. It does make sense to retain a food production sector, and a manufacturing sector for important goods like pharmaceuticals - because countries are likely to prioritise themselves in times of scarcity or crisis. I agree that interdependence is good for avoiding conflict.
I think this independence is an illusion in the current globalised environment and it would be very difficult to attain it even for a very large country like the US (and completely out of reach for small countries).
Let’s take the example of food. Does your country depend on imports of fertiliser? What about animal feed (soy beans)? I am guessing the answer to both these questions yes.
The point is, we are in this together. For a small nation this is trivially obvious, but larger nations like to pretend they can do things alone. And then you get people like Trump that play on these sentiments.