Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
There seem to be two major schools of thought on this subject:
One being that if the industry fails it is because the business model is flawed and one must learn to adapt to a global economy or be left behind. Many who believe this are very "modern" in their thinking and think that having a strong manufacturing base on your home soil is antiquated thinking.
There are others (mostly older people, or people who grew up around older people) who feel that one should support domestic companies because it is wise to keep a strong manufacturing base on your home soil in the event of war. Much of this harks back to WWII where GM, Ford and Chrysler turned their car factories into war factories and provided a host of products to the American forces to fight the Nazi's and the Japanese.
My grandfather was in the RCAF, served as a tail-gunner and boot-camp sergeant, so you can probably guess which group I fit into.
I don't have a "hippy dippy" world view and fully expect WWIII at some point in time. Hopefully not in mine or that of my children though.
You do realize that as a Canadian you may not share that opinion with very many fellow citizens? I am surprised (pleasantly) and refreshed to see such a firm, realistic view of the world coming from one of our northern friends. The happy rosey picture (hippy view) most canadians and many Americans express these days is not historically supportable.
Yes, I've noticed that as generations pass, those who share that view become fewer and fewer. The ignorance to history makes it that much easier to repeat itself unfortunately.
Yet there are symbols of our history all around us. When I was growing up, we used to make trips to Fredericton New Brunswick to visit an elderly friend of my parent's.
Her husband, a German physicist, taught in Fredericton and had met with Einstein. He was a brilliant man in his own right, who I vaguely remember, since he died when I was a small child.
In Fredericton, there is a Hotel called the Lord Beaverbrook. Most young Canadians have no idea the significance of that building, nor its namesake. Beaverbrook was a Canadian/British businessman who took the issue with the Luftwaffe in England as a personal challenge.
Churchill put him in charge of the construction of British aircraft to combat the Germans. His goal was simple: churn them out faster than the Germans could destroy them. And at that he succeeded brilliantly.
As you stated, the "everything is rosy" world-view is not historically supportable. In the last hundred years, we have had two global wars, multiple conflicts in Asia, multiple wars in the Persian Gulf, as well as a Nuclear arms race. Humans are far from a peaceful species.
As other previously third-world countries (such as China) try to leverage themselves into first-world nation positions, they will be vying for the same resources we need to maintain our quality of life.
