Haven't we always been a "global economy"? The very discovery of America was because Europe was looking for a cheaper faster trade route to China for its trade goods. Mathew Perry was instrumental in expanding our trade into Japan. One of the first trade deals was with railroad engine manufacturers who sold them locomotives.What is changing is not that we are a global economy but that the rest of the world is catching up with us with technology and we are letting it happen by not educating our youth in important disciplines. We are more concerned about safe places and social justice then we are in engineering and mathematics.