Despite all the disadvantages of the global economy, one advantage remains. People in richer countries have cheaper goods. It is also one of the key arguments of the Harris campaign.
But is it really? Maybe on some items. But if you go and buy a jacket in the Czech Republic for, say, 3,000 crowns, the cost of production is no more than 500 crowns, maybe less. Most of the price is transport, warehousing, advertising, marketing, running the stores, several layers of managers, consultants for those managers, etc. And of course profit.
If our economy was set up differently and the jackets were sewn in Náchod, Jaroměř or some other eastern Czech town, they would cost 3000 too, but the manufacturer would get 2400 of that. It would go straight from the factory to the shop and only 600 crowns would be left for advertising agencies, managers and everything else. We would have a different structure of the national economy, a different composition of professions and different demands on the education system.
So global is really cheaper. But cheaper for the marketers, not for the end consumer.