Back when mercantilism was the prevailing system, England and France would trade but trade for things that, broadly speaking, the other actually wanted. Nowada

Back when mercantilism was the prevailing system, England and France would trade but trade for things that, broadly speaking, the other actually wanted. Nowadays it's like the US is trading for all this random-ass shit it doesn't need because its poor all need to get by in a country with many cabals (medical costs, education costs, housing, necessity of having a car, etc).