Against trade wars as class wars

Debates between free-traders and protectionists routinely devolve into competing variations of class warfare – each claiming the cause of the “common man” against a wealthy and entrenched elite. Whereas protectionists argue that trade liberalization primarily benefits the rich, displacing disproportionate numbers of working-class employees, free-traders rush to the defense of working-class consumers, whose pocketbooks are undoubtedly harmed by tariffs and restrictions. Continue Reading...

‘American Factory’ manufactures a lemon

(Feb. 12, 2020) Update: American Factory wins an Oscar for best feature documentary. In accepting the award, co-director Julia Reichert told attendees at the awards ceremony, “We believe that things will get better when workers of the world unite.” Continue Reading...

The uneasy conscience of fair trade fundamentalism

In The Christian Century, Rev. David Mesenbring provides an accounting of his experiences with fair trade. Mesenbring, who was an early advocate and adopter of fair trade practices and policies, thinks there’s good reason to doubt the efficacy of the movement as currently stands. Continue Reading...

Recalling the one lesson: The US-China trade war revisited

Influential thinker Henry Hazlitt argued that the “art of economics” could be distilled to a generally applicable single lesson: looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy [and] tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups. Continue Reading...

2019 G20 Summit: Tariffs and forbearance

As world leaders from a select group of the largest national economies meet in Osaka at the end of this week, they face increasing volatility and uncertainty around some of the basic principles and institutions that bring together their various peoples in the global marketplace. Continue Reading...

A trade ‘war’ preemptive strike

Over at Providence today, I say a bit about the Trump administration’s trade policy as well as the President’s rhetoric. Here’s a snip: A sober defense of free trade aspires toward freer and freer exchange, even while it recognizes the necessities of incremental improvements and the messiness of politics. Continue Reading...