From the American point of view, technology and trade are the same. From the human point of view, trade is better.
One of the things that I’ve really been making the focus of this show is to show people what real, true, classical liberalism is.
One of the signature features of President Donald Trump’s campaign was his hostility to free trade. Then-candidate Trump repeatedly denigrated various multilateral trade pacts as bad deals for the United States. Pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, appointing opponents of free trade—such as Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro—into key positions, and promises of tariffs that are likely to […]
Among economics data watchers, a country’s exports enjoy a hallowed status. The ability of producers in country A to sell goods and services to people in other countries is taken as a sign of A’s economic strength, although the underlying metric for economic strength goes unmentioned. In addition, job counters across the spectrum constantly count […]
Capitalism—stronger than any border wall or immigration ban—remains a resilient and deeply American system.
“The market is not a place, a thing, a collective entity. The market is a process, actuated by the interplay of the actions of the various individuals cooperating under the division of labor.” – Ludwig von Mises
One of the gravest economic mistakes that humans can make is to forget that ours is unavoidably a world of scarcity.
Free trade doesn’t just make us better off. It makes us better people. Donald Trump claims that raising barriers to trade is one of the things it will take to “Make America Great Again,” but he is wrong. Greatness—both of wealth and of moral character—comes from trade. And we have known this for a very […]
One of the most egregious misunderstandings about trade is that the government of country A should allow its people to trade freely with peoples of other countries only if governments of, and producers in, other countries “play by the rules” – which usually means “plays according to the rules that the rulers and politically powerful […]
Commerce brings out the best in human beings by providing incentives to care about others. Those who can’t rise above focusing on their short-term narrow needs have little ability to meet the needs of others.
In today’s globally connected world with dynamic global supply chains for raw materials and inputs, and global marketplaces for final sales, it’s an economic fact of the modern world economy that: a) exporters are importers and b) importers are exporters.
Trump’s base will be hurt the most by his wealth-destroying and punitive trade policy.
Donald Trump is a protectionist like many other politicians, save that he unfurls his vast economic ignorance more fully and more proudly than do more seasoned politicians. I’ve more questions for Trump and his fans, and, indeed, for protectionists of all stripes, colors, and temperaments. Such as…. – If you buy your tomatoes and okra […]
Trump’s trade policies miss one of the most fundamental economic concepts: When two parties engage in trade, they are both better off.
Here is what you should know about NAFTA, the perennially controversial trade agreement