Tag: trade
What Charles Darwin owes Adam Smith
June 16, 2017 | Post
The following is a lightly edited, slightly condensed transcript of the talk “Adam Darwin: Emergent Order in Biology and Economics,” presented by Matt Ridley at the Adam Smith Institute in 2012. I’ve called my lecture “Adam Darwin” to stress how congruent the philosophies of Adam Smith and Charles Darwin are. The common theme, of course, […]
Trump, Trade, and Great Power War
March 23, 2017 | Post
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 […]
Why it would be madness to produce all our own food
March 14, 2017 | Post
There’s a reason why, in times of war, countries have blockaded others.
Exports only matter because they let us import
March 6, 2017 | Post
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 […]
Why can’t you pay for sex?
March 1, 2017 | Post
Consensual sex is legal. But as soon as one party offers cash to another in exchange for sex and that money is voluntarily accepted, it’s considered prostitution, and that is illegal.
Trump's proposed wall and tax are folly
February 22, 2017 | Post
The idea is wrongheaded on both counts: they would harm citizens of the US as well as those of Latin America.