What if the U.S. found it in their national interest to prevent distributed manufacturing from being developed?
I was talking with Russell Brand, CRN Strategist on Societal Response, about a book that Josh Hall had recommended, The Next 100 Years. The author, George Friedman, argues that a lot of geopolitics has been centered around control of ocean shipping lanes - England's partial control of the world's shipping thus led to the Pax Britannica. In the past few decades, the Pacific Ocean has become as important as the Atlantic... and the U.S. is uniquely positioned to control both oceans in the next century.
Russell thought for a few minutes, then pointed out that if U.S. power and influence rests on control of global shipping, a technological advance that drastically reduced the quantity of stuff needing to be shipped would seem to weaken the U.S.'s influence.
I can't easily argue with this logic... though I don't much like the implications.