Advanced Economies Must Still Make Things
Advanced economies must still make things, but there's no rule that says that those things have to be made by <i>people</i>. In inflation-adjusted dollar value terms, the value of US manufacturing has never been higher. In employment terms, it's never been lower. While there are those who blame outsourcing for that, the vast majority of manufacturing job losses have been due to automation, rather than competition from abroad.<p>For example, look at this video of a MillTurn M60: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81UjjSH2iFw" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81UjjSH2iFw</a>. This one machine replaces an entire shop floor of lathes and mills... and all their operators, too.