The advanced silicon chips on which the future depends are all made in Taiwan – here's why that matters John Naughton

When the history of our time comes to be written, one thing that will amaze historians is how an entire civilisation managed to impale itself on its worship of optimisation and efficiency. This obsession is what underpinned the hubris of globalisation. Apple's famous slogan "Designed by Apple in California, manufactured in China" became its guiding light. So long as products could be made available to consumers everywhere, it no longer mattered where they were made. We first twigged this when the pandemic struck, and we became suddenly aware of how fragile supply chains built to maximise efficiency could be.