From a certain perspective maybe. But I think that would be one coloured by a narrow mentality [0] In a "purely mercenary reality", what you need to survive is

From a certain perspective maybe. But I think that would be one coloured by a narrow mentality [0] In a "purely mercenary reality", what you need to survive is not wealth, but peace, and that is something you cannot buy with many of the futures we're now looking at. In a funny way, PFAS is a great metaphor. Forever chemicals have now been found in places nobody would ever have predicted. Bad things have a way of spreading in ways you won't see until they're at the gate. It might not be a good idea to bet the farm on isolationism and exceptionalism. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_mentality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_mentality