How coronavirus shutdowns are redrawing supply chains and globalisation forever
- Global lockdowns are disrupting supply chains and giving the world a taste of economic decoupling. But the gains of globalisation and the internet cannot be rolled back, so what awaits us is not the end but a fresh reconfiguration of the global economy
It was only in recent years, as I take friends and family back to visit my childhood home, that I realised just how small – quite literally – that childhood world had been.
The river I used to wade in to catch sticklebacks and freshwater crayfish was just 100 yards from my home. The fields where my father took me in darkness before dawn to pick horse mushrooms, or hazelnuts and sweet chestnuts, were just half a mile away.
My school was a 10-minute bike ride away. Most of our food came from my father’s allotment, half a mile up the hill. For those lucky enough to afford them, cars were proudly built in the British Midlands 50 miles away.
It seemed plenty big enough then, even though our summer caravan holidays were just an 80km (50-mile) drive away, and annual visits to relatives in Yorkshire were an exotic treat. Three TV channels seemed a luxury of choice. A crackly mono record player was the envy of many neighbours. And, in bed at night, there were books aplenty.
