Free trade: Good. Socialism: Bad.

A strange title in this entry, isn't it? Maybe not. Maybe its simple message needs to be told as often as possible. Maybe we still live in times of socialism and protectionism which needs to be exterminated as fast as possible. But lets cut to the chase..

International free trade has been a subject of big debates since the 17th century (or even sooner). Right-winged liberals fight for it, socialists and others of that kind fight against it. A lot has been tried out when it comes to free trade. We have tried open borders, closed ones and everything in between. Experience has taught us that free trade is good - it lifts up living standards, undoes poverty, decreases the threats of war and terrorism, and insures stability in the political field. Organizations like the European Union and NAFTA were originally established on the idea that free trade leads to good and protectionism to bad. Experience, historical facts and right-winged economic theory all combines into supporting the notion that free trade is fundamentally good for all that enjoy it.

So why am I preaching these obvious facts? Hasn't humanity clearly learned its lesson once and for all? No, I'm afraid not. Socialism still prevails - even within Western countries today! David Boaz discussed that a little in an article where he fights protectionistic views in America which preach "dangers" and "woes" in relation with free trade. David has a few words of wisdom for Leftists, nationalists and others who criticize international free trade:

But trade is not a zero-sum game. Everybody wins when more goods are produced. The story of economic progress is the tendency toward increasing specialization and division of labor. When new market participants can produce wheat more cheaply, established wheat producers can move on to other tasks, generally higher-value-added production. If Americans can purchase wheat cheaper than we can make it, then we can turn our labors to software, financial services, engineering, entertainment, computer chips, medical instruments, telecommunications equipment, chemicals, and so on.

Also:

When two parties trade, each expects to gain. It doesn't matter whether they live in different neighborhoods, different states, or different nations. I don't worry about my balance of trade with the grocer, and the grocer doesn't worry about his balance of trade with the car dealer. And it's the same with international trade. Why would we expect countries to import and export the same amount of any product, whether wheat, shoes, computers, or movies?

Unfortunately David is not just repeating age-old facts to a crowd that knows them all too well. He seems to be speaking to a crowd which actually thinks free trade is a bad thing! Western unions and their politicians and supporters (Leftists) are still a noisy and annoying crowd which quite simply is wrong and needs to be stuffed with facts, logic, theory and historical data if we are ever to hope it will learn its lesson.

Many issues in politics are open for discussion. However, critics of free trade can never have anything to say which can hold against facts and logic. Critics of free trade have to go with their bullshit elsewhere than into a discussion based on common sense and historical knowledge. So much's for sure.