The Revolution of 1948, and Its Reversal

The Revolution of 1948, and Its Reversal

https://www.aier.org/article/revolution-1948-and-its-reversal

Excerpt: Generations of Americans have taken the ideal of free trade for granted – until the Trump administration, led by the self-described “tariff man,” turned on it and replaced it with a mercantilist strategy. What began with hope for better deals has turned into the attempted imposition of a pre-modern form of economic planning. Down with imports. Up with exports. Trade deficits balanced by taxes on Americans masquerading as tariffs against foreigners. The ideal of cooperation between enterprises the world over is replaced with competition between states, funded via the printing press – as the president said directly in a Tweet. The reversal is only 18 months old, but it is not panning out as planned. [This is a fascinating look at how we’ve gotten to where we were and are, vis-a-vis international trade. You’ll learn a lot about J. M. Keynes, too, and you won’t like it much. Ron P.)