As argued by Fernandez Armesto in chapters 12 and 13, was it better to be plugged into the connected world of Afro-Eurasia or not to be plugged into the connected world of Afro-Eurasia?

As argued by Fernandez Armesto in chapters 12 and 13, was it better to be plugged into the connected world of Afro-Eurasia or not to be plugged into the connected world of Afro-Eurasia?  do a cost vs benefit analysis of historical developments in the later Middle Ages from the perspective of the states and peoples he discusses in those two chapters. Were these people better off being connected or not?