Isolation isn't the Answer

Instead of leading, you can decide you want to do all the work yourself. And that tends to lead to poor results - because good leadership isn't about doing everything yourself. It's about bringing out the best in others. And that's why isolationism is not the right way to go when it comes to international trade. Together, we can be more than the sum of our parts. If America became a twenty-first century superpower by exporting intellectual talents while the developing world has advanced itself by exporting industrial goods, a fixation on returning to simpler forms of production could be indicative of a collapse of our intellectual economy - and that would be troubling.

Free markets are an investment in free people. When people are connected to each others' shared destinies - even if they have different perspectives and ethos, they tend to make decisions at a macro level which serve a universal good. For example, China may be a Communist country officially - but its connection to the global marketplace also makes it very much a capitalist one. And its vested interest in preserving lines of free trade is, whether it admits this or not, an investment in improved liberty for the people who work in its domestic economy. Even an abusive husband will act a bit better when there's company over.

So what can we do about it? Try to invest in your own education. That doesn't mean you need to go to college. But maybe do some micro-learnings. Maybe read a news magazine that has balanced sources. Be a bit more of a critical thinker, and try to understand more about how the world works, even if it's just something small. Encourage people who are better at things than you are - and try to have an attitude of leadership which focuses on helping everyone get ahead, instead of just getting ahead for your own ego or gratification.

Don't be too defined by consumerism. Learn to live a simple life, being satisfied with simple pursuits and relatively few things. Excessive materialism often is connected to a decline in actual production. Because when people focus more on appearing to have integrity - instead of actually acting with integrity; or when they focus more on getting ahead - and less on doing things which produce true quality and added value - then we become less honest, more self-deceived, and more at risk of being negatively impacted by the traps which hit the proud and arrogant hardest.