I received a funny email the other day, following one of my economic screeds, asking whether I really "believed" in globalization. I'll admit some bemusement toward people who do not see the benefits of having goods produced in the most efficient manner, but that's a different question, isn't it?

I admit to being an unabashed capitalist. I believe that empirical evidence shows the overwhelming failure of job protection, government subsidy, and make-work schemes to do anything but destroy jobs. Again, a different question. Do I believe in globalization?

To answer this question, I strolled around my house, making a mental note of where things were made. You'll find that many of these things were produced in foreign countries by (or under the name of) American companies. I limited myself to one hour so as not to descend into the absurd (looking for components of products, and so on). As we approach this holiday season of goodwill, it might be a fine time for us to recognize that our planet is becoming a smaller place. Do I believe in globalism? How could I not?

So what's in the house?
Or, more specifically, where was it made? Here's just a sample. When companies publicly traded in the U.S. are involved, I've included their names. ADRs are indicated with an asterisk. Prepare to scroll. The fact that the list is so unwieldy helps make its point.

  • Afghanistan -- Overstock.com
  • Argentina -- Gap (NYSE:GPS)
  • Australia -- News Corp.
  • Bahrain -- Gap
  • Bangladesh - Nike (NYSE:NKE), Reebok
  • Belize
  • Brunei -- Gap
  • Burma -- Gap
  • Canada -- 3M, Kimberly Clark, Johnson & Johnson, Toronto Dominion Bank
  • China -- Disney, TexasInstruments, Sony*, National Presto
  • Colombia -- Disney, Hartmarx
  • Costa Rica -- Gap
  • Cuba
  • Ecuador -- Del Monte
  • Egypt
  • El Salvador
  • England -- Cadbury Schweppes* (NYSE:CSG)
  • Ethiopia - Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX)
  • Finland -- Nokia* (NYSE:NOK)
  • France -- Schlumberger, GroupeDanone* (NYSE:DA)
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Guatemala
  • Haiti -- Sara Lee
  • Hong Kong -- Texas Instruments, NamTai Electronics
  • Hungary
  • India -- Gap
  • Indonesia -- Gap, Kenneth Cole, Jones New York
  • Ireland -- Diageo*
  • Israel -- Gap Stores
  • Italy -- Natuzzi*, Gucci
  • Jamaica
  • Japan -- Sony, NEC*, Bombay
  • Jordan
  • Korea -- Gap
  • Kuwait
  • Lesotho -- Gap
  • Macau - PoloRalph Lauren
  • Madagascar -- Gap
  • Mexico -- 3M, Sony, Scientific Atlanta, Diageo
  • Nepal -- Gap
  • Pakistan -- Liz Claiborne
  • Papua New Guinea -- Starbucks
  • Peru -- Overstock.com
  • Philippines -- General Electric
  • Qatar
  • Russia
  • Saudi Arabia -- Coca-Cola
  • St. Lucia -- Disney
  • Scotland -- Brown-Forman
  • Senegal
  • Singapore -- Hewlett-Packard
  • Sri Lanka -- Gap
  • Sweden - Ford,Hennes& Mauritz
  • Switzerland -- Novartis* (NYSE:NVS)
  • Taiwan
  • Turkey -- Gap
  • Ukraine -- Gap
  • Vietnam -- Nike

Mind you, this list was generated in an hour of rummaging around. I'm sure that pulling apart the furniture or looking under the hoods of the cars or divining the origin of various natural resources would have yielded plenty more. (Is that Nigerian crude in my car?) The point of this exercise would be the same: Global trade is responsible for many of the products we all use every day.

I'm also a little staggered by the amount of clothing my family has from the Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy. Of course, anyone who has young children can tell you just what a godsend Baby Gap can be. And there's a reason that Baby Gap can offer so many products at reasonable prices. Gap Stores understand what Adam Smith understood and what politicians have yet to grasp: People naturally gravitate toward buying the same goods at the lowest price available.

If our government demanded that Gap produce most of its goods here in the U.S., it wouldn't mean any increase in U.S. jobs, because those items of clothing would go up in price, meaning that people would consume less of them. This would mean that there would be less need for the raw materials that go into them, and it would also mean that the additional money required to buy each piece of Gap clothing would necessarily be money that would not be spent buying something else in its place.

A more pressing concern
I am less concerned with where the goods are coming from than with the probability that, this holiday season, people will be buying them with money that they do not have. The biggest issue facing us isn't whether Tommy Hilfiger produces in South Carolina or South Korea; it's whether American consumers, already up to their eyeballs in debt, should be unsheathing those credit cards at all.

But with continued improvements in transportation, communications, and infrastructure, it would seem that the efficiencies available to producers are greater than ever before. In the question of whether I believe in globalization or not, I plea, "No contest."

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This article appeared previously. It has been updated.

Gap and Reebok are Motley Fool Stock Advisor picks. Overstock is a Rule Breakers pick. 3M and Coca-Cola are Inside Value picks. Sara Lee is an Income Investor pick. For a free trial to our newsletters, click here.

Bill Mann didn't know that they made anything in Qatar besides oil and gas, and yet, voila, in his house -- what do you know? Qatari paints. Bill owns shares in Hennes & Mauritz and Disney. The Motley Fool has an ironclad disclosure policy.