In every great debate, there comes a time when inner reflection is unavoidable. And in the great debate over outsourcing of jobs, perhaps that time is now.

Great American industries virtually have disappeared: shoes, textiles, furniture, steel. Other major industries are embattled: automobiles, aircraft.

The fate of the steel industry in the United States was sealed after World War II, when our government helped Germany and Japan rebuild with the very latest technology, putting those countries far ahead of the domestic companies. Our companies continued to struggle, and lose ground, in the ensuing decades. Finally, after withering, they died.

Shoes and textiles simply could be manufactured more cheaply in foreign countries. Sure, it was more profitable for businesses to import from abroad — but the final arbiter was the consumer, who time and time again chose the cheaper foreign product over the more expensive one manufactured here by American labor.

It happened with the furniture industry. Now, we are lucky to have a relatively small specialized furniture industry left in the Carolinas, where once huge factories produced the items filling our homes. Today virtually all of our furniture comes from China or Vietnam. Why? Because it is cheaper — and we don’t want to spend the extra money. It is possible, for example, to buy a Canadian manufactured dining room, but it might be sitting on the showroom floor priced at $10,000 next to a similar item available from China for $5,000. An American Shaker version might be priced at $15,000. Which is the consumer, which is you, choosing? And therein lies the problem.

Consumers vote with their pocketbooks: every time they step into Walmart seeking the cheapest possible price, every time they ignore the Made in America label to save money. Eventually, and over decades, jobs are lost. Industries disappear. The nature of the American economy shifts.

In reality, the blame doesn’t go to the Bain Capitals of the world. Companies like Bain are interested in making investments and earning an appropriate return on those investments. They exist to make money, not lose it.

The blame, if this is what it is, rests with you, the American consumer. You make the ultimate decision each time you make a purchase. And, increasingly, those decisions have favored the lowest price, at a huge cost in American jobs. Look in the mirror before you cast blame. You might gain a different perspective by examining your own spending practices.