> I keep seeing people advocating that the idea that we should build everything, and every piece or everything, here is a good one. Why? Is this just an isolationist dream?
No. There needs to be balance. We are way past the balance point, by far. When I say "we" I mean the US and Europe. We have the same problems, and I believe Europe is in far greater danger to be absolutely decimated in the next two to five decades.
Example: We are currently working on a robotics project. Just-about the only thing we can buy in the US (or Europe, for that matter) is the aluminum and steel, and only if we are ready to do the fabrication --machining-- ourselves (which we can do). If we have to rely on third parties to manufacture the parts we are sunk. Making anything in the US (and Europe) has become impossible. Wires, cables, circuit boards, motors, encoders, chips, displays, cast iron or aluminum parts, gears, belts, injection molded parts, filters, lubricants, etc. The list is massively long. Again, US and Europe, same problem.
The massive imbalance in tariffs and trade restrictions has collapsed entire industries. Try to print books or manuals in the US or Europe at scale. Good luck. Try to make packaging materials. Same problem.
I've been manufacturing for about four decades. It has never been worse. It's horrible. And we need to fix it or we'll be left with nothing. You cannot have an economy that is purely based on providing services and writing software.
A couple of decades ago, I used to buy a specially-treated antireflective type of glass from the last company making it in the US. The Chinese started to dump and created pricing pressure. Five years later they were out of business. I then bought the same type of glass from the sole remaining western factory in Germany. A couple of years later they discontinued the product. I then had to buy from China. A couple of years later they increased their prices --nearly doubled.
That's what we've been dealing with (US and Europe). A predatory and destructive "machine". This isn't about making everything. It's about making enough to have a viable economy in the long run. I find that people who are not in manufacturing cannot grasp this. It isn't about hating China either. They are doing exactly right by their people. I admire their dedication and focus. We (US and Europe) are the idiots.