The latest dilemma: At what point does the political-economy collapse? There’s a continuing push for internationalized capitalism and expanding markets, at the same time, there is less concern for growing unemployment and societal disunity – not just in the U.S., but worldwide.
If we accept that the cost of living exceeds job growth and real wage increases, then we must also accept that at some point in the future this situation will create havoc.
Internationalization of capitalism involves the quest for cheap labor markets to produce goods sold in the first-world market, where the highest profits can be achieved. The inherent problem of internationalization is that it requires cheap labor, and in order for the U.S. to compete in a world economy the U.S. will need to devolve salaries to a point equivalent to labor markets elsewhere in the world.
Compounding the problem is that the cost of living in the U.S. is among the highest in the world. Continued internationalization threatens the societal structure of the U.S. by denying the backbone that creates and maintains the [consumer] prosperity of this country. Is it possible to return to feudalism? I would argue that polarization of this U.S. society is one of the greatest threats of our future. There are too many Americans who will not accept marginalization in order to support the powers-that-be.
Revolution has always been fomented from the marginalized middle class. The powers-that-be continue to market the idea of the individual and divide the interests of the middle class, but that can only work for so long. At a certain point, the populace wakes from its coma of plenitude and demands the parity it deserves.