Country A - closed borders, protectionist economy, import tariffs and very high barriers to immmigration. Result: high wages and salaries. High cost of all imported goods. Sneak-buy your Audi from Germany and save 50%. Country lacks relevance in modern research and development, global trade, movement of people.

Country B: open immigration policy, very open trade policies, global importer/exporter. Result: diverse workforce, extremely high salaries for creme-de-la-creme specialist workers. Lower wages and salaries for commoditized or lower skilled jobs. Very low cost of consumer goods. Global leader in technology, innovation, finance, education, research. Summary: the top layers are high-paid and living large; the bottom 75% is working extremely hard for market-rate pay, which is often insufficient for decent lifestyle.

Which do we prefer?