If they had manufactured 80% of the stuff in my house, wouldn't Reagan have concluded that they had won the war before it started? A country that manufactures 80% of the things you need to live might just decide to not sell them to you if you misbehave.

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smallmancontrov 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Yes, but the real question is if Reagan still would have pushed as hard for financialization and deindustrialization if he understood that he was ultimately selling American industry to communists.

I think he would have. I think he hated American labor more than he hated foreign communists. If his head were still around in a Futurama Jar to comment on the matter, I think he would be blaming American workers for the consequences of his own policies.

	▲	triceratops 15 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		> I think he hated American labor more than he hated foreign communists Ironic, considering his own history as a union leader.
	▲	chrisco255 an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Reagan didnt push for deindustrialization and "the world is flat" world view didn't take precedence until after the fall of the Soviet Union in the 90s. At the time, everyone was still optimistic that China would eventually become more open and even democratic, that Russia would not regress, etc. It was still common for electronics and microprocessors to be made in USA well into the 90s. Reagan had nothing to do with the expansion of WTO and trade deficits with China that ballooned under HW, Clinton, Bush Jr and Obama.