50 years ago the dollar had value because of a massive and extremely temporary economic opportunity while the rest of the world played catch up from world wars,

50 years ago the dollar had value because of a massive and extremely temporary economic opportunity while the rest of the world played catch up from world wars, civil wars, and imperialism. Now we're closer to a level playing field and America doesn't get to play on easy mode. Regardless, manufacturing isn't the primary measure for economic strength anyway.