In the small town of Millville, Ohio, the 1990s dawned with a hum of optimism. The local steel plant, Millville Ironworks, was the heartbeat of the community, employing thousands of workers who punched in each morning to forge the backbone of American industry. Families like the Thompsons thrived on steady paychecks, owning modest homes, driving reliable Fords, and sending their kids to college without crushing debt. The American middle class, built on manufacturing might, seemed unshakeable.
Across the Pacific, in Shenzhen, China, Wei Chen lived a different reality. A farmer’s son, he toiled in rice paddies, his future tethered to the land. China’s middle class was a faint dream, with most citizens scraping by on less than $2 a day. But the world was tilting, and globalism—spurred by trade deals like NAFTA and China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001—would rewrite both stories.
The American Dream Unravels
By the early 2000s, Millville began to fray. The steel plant faced a flood of cheap imports from China, where labor costs were a fraction of America’s. Global corporations, chasing profits, shuttered factories across the Rust Belt, moving production to places like Shenzhen. Between 2000 and 2015, the U.S. lost 5 million manufacturing jobs, with 2.4 million directly displaced by Chinese import competition, according to economist David Autor.
For the Thompsons, the impact was personal. Jack Thompson, a third-generation steelworker, was laid off in 2004 when Millville Ironworks closed. At 45, he scrambled for work, landing a part-time job at a big-box retailer for $9 an hour—no benefits, no stability. His wife, Linda, took on extra shifts as a nurse, but the family’s savings dwindled. Their daughter, Sarah, abandoned dreams of college, opting for community college courses she could barely afford. The Thompsons’ home, once a symbol of middle-class pride, faced foreclosure.
Millville wasn’t alone. Across America, globalism hollowed out communities. Trade deficits with China soared, reaching $419 billion by 2015. Towns lost not just factories but the ecosystems around them—diners, hardware stores, and schools withered as tax bases shrank. Wages stagnated; by 2019, real median household income for the middle class had barely budged in two decades. The opioid crisis crept in, filling the void left by lost purpose. The American middle class, once the envy of the world, was shrinking, squeezed by automation, outsourcing, and policies that prioritized corporate profits over workers.
China’s Middle Class Rises
Meanwhile, in Shenzhen, Wei Chen’s life transformed. China’s integration into the global economy turned cities like Shenzhen into manufacturing powerhouses. Factories sprouted, producing everything from sneakers to smartphones for Western markets. Wei, now 30, left the farm for a factory job assembling electronics. His starting wage was low—$1 an hour—but it was a fortune compared to rural life. By 2010, he earned $5 an hour, enough to rent a small apartment and send money home.
China’s middle class exploded. Between 2000 and 2020, it grew from 3% of the population to over 50%, encompassing 700 million people, according to the World Bank. Urbanization surged; gleaming skyscrapers replaced shantytowns. Wei’s children attended modern schools, and he bought a car—a BYD, made in China. By 2025, China’s per capita GDP had risen from $1,000 in 2000 to over $12,000. Globalism, paired with China’s state-driven industrial policies, lifted hundreds of millions into a consumer class that rivaled America’s.
Shenzhen became a symbol of this ascent. Once a fishing village, it was now a tech hub, home to giants like Huawei and Tencent. Wei, who’d risen to a factory supervisor, marveled at the city’s high-speed rail and sprawling malls. China’s middle class wasn’t just surviving—it was driving global demand, buying iPhones, traveling abroad, and fueling a domestic economy that challenged the West’s dominance.
The Scales of Globalism
Back in Millville, Jack Thompson watched news reports of China’s rise with a mix of resentment and resignation. He didn’t blame Wei Chen, who was just chasing a better life, but he felt betrayed by the system. Trade deals had promised prosperity for all, but the benefits skewed upward—to Wall Street, to CEOs, to consumers enjoying cheap goods. The middle class, the engine of America’s postwar boom, was collateral damage. Studies showed that while globalism slashed poverty worldwide, it deepened inequality in developed nations. In the U.S., the top 1% captured 20% of national income by 2020, up from 10% in 1980.
In Shenzhen, Wei Chen heard whispers of America’s struggles but focused on his own gains. His family’s rise mirrored China’s, built on the same global trade that gutted Millville. Yet even Wei faced challenges—rising costs, pollution, and a government that controlled opportunity. Still, his life was unimaginable two decades prior.
A Tale of Two Worlds
By 2025, Millville was a shadow of its past. The steel plant was a rusted husk, and Jack, now in his 60s, relied on Social Security and Linda’s meager pension. Sarah worked two gig jobs, her American Dream a distant echo. In Shenzhen, Wei Chen’s family planned their first international vacation, a testament to China’s middle-class miracle.
Globalism had redrawn the world. It lifted billions in China and the Global South, creating a new consumer class that reshaped global markets. But in America, the middle class paid the price, their stability sacrificed on the altar of free trade. The lesson was stark: globalism wasn’t a zero-sum game, but its gains and losses were brutally uneven. As Millville faded and Shenzhen shone, the question lingered—could the scales ever balance again?
Notes on Inspiration: This story draws from the video’s themes (linked: Peter Zeihan’s analysis of global trade’s impacts), emphasizing the decline of U.S. manufacturing and China’s economic ascent. Data points, like job losses and China’s middle-class growth, are grounded in studies from economists like David Autor and World Bank reports. The narrative humanizes the structural shifts, focusing on relatable characters to mirror the broader economic trends discussed in the video.
