East Germany: Sad Lesson About 'Self-Sufficient' Economies

Those who complain about jobs ‘lost' to offshoring generally don't consider that the purpose of working is to consume. Offshoring production to other jurisdictions helps us to make the goods and services we use as efficiently as possible, by casting the widest possible net for the most economic way to fulfill each stage of production. The alternative to offshoring is to pursue autarky and build a closed economy. How well has that worked out?