It also increases the immiseration of those in the areas replaced[3], which is likely a contributor to rising populism and political instability. Most of this malaise is just hidden in places like the Rust Belt.
[1]https://www.csis.org/analysis/rare-earth-export-restrictions...
If the type of prosperity you want to point to is "stock market go up," we need to talk about who owns the stocks and who doesn't.
We used to actually have starving people in this country, now we talk about "food insecurity".
Would you prefer to go back to a time were people were literally starving?