Protectionism and Free Trade

We should stop using terms such as “trade surplus” or “trade deficit.” Trade is always a surplus and the only deficit comes from government interventions.

An enduring myth is that imports from industrialized western countries have decimated production of goods in developing countries. Economic history tells a much different story.

As tariffs force up business costs, analysts are claiming that businesses will have to “absorb costs” to stay in business. That is not a sustainable strategy, as businesses cannot survive under these high-cost circumstances.

Four years of trade between Israel and these three Arab Muslim countries is encouraging thanks to the Abraham Accords.

Are tomatoes fruits or vegetables? Believe it or not, the US Supreme Court ruled on that question in 1893 in order to settle a tariff dispute over importation of tomatoes.

John Prince Smith, a British national who settled in Germany, led a free-trade movement in that country in the mid-19th century. Unfortunately, his movement ultimately was overpowered by the rise of Bismarck's Realpolitik.

In 1806 Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree, laying out his Continental System he hoped would starve Great Britain into submission through blockades and anti-trade policies. In the end, smuggling and outright avoidance of the law brought down his system and his empire.

Chris Calton reviews Michael Sonenscher's Capitalism: The Story Behind the Word. The book meanders through abstract associations to claim that the division of labor is “worse” than capitalism without providing context or engaging with real historical developments.

Tom DiLorenzo reviews Patrick Newman's Cronyism: Liberty Versus Power in Early America, 1607–1849. The book posits that early American history is best understood as a struggle between mercantilist elites seeking to plunder the people and libertarians advocating economic freedom.

David Gordon reviews Quinn Slobodian's Crack-Up Capitalism. Slobodian’s obsession with the evils of competition, which he considers a race to the bottom, is so great that it leads him to dismiss commonplace observations that everyone knows to be true.