The Trade-Offs of Free Trade – A Dead Economists Salon

Join Interintellect hosts Bronwyn Williams and Peter Isztin in this latest entry in their Dead Economists Society salon series—now in its second year of monthly meetings!

In this salon, we evoke numerous dead economists on the great issue of free trade versus protectionism: from Adam Smith, David Hume, and David Ricardo—to Friedrich List and his protectionist disciples.

Among other topics, we will discuss:

• If globalization and free trade is “doomed”
• The rise of the “Dragonbear”
• Supply chain trade offs between efficiency and resilience (especially post COVID and mid “WWIII”)
• The origins of today’s talking points on trade
• Movement of capital and movement of people: restrictionism versus the “open borders” movement
• Unilateralism, bilateralism, multilateralism
• The future of trade blocs (EU, African Union etc.)
• The sources of comparative advantage and international division of labour
• And whatever else we fancy.

Come join us as we discuss the future of globalisation and free trade.

Recommended Readings

– Friedrich List and his impact on American protectionism: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-mind-behind-early-american-protectionism/

– Protection or Free Trade (a book by Henry Goerge): https://www.econlib.org/library/YPDBooks/George/grgPFT.html

– David Hume: Of the Balance of Trade: http://la.utexas.edu/users/hcleaver/368/368HumeTradetable.pdf

– Ricardo’s difficult idea (essay by Paul Krugman): https://web.mit.edu/krugman/www/ricardo.htm#:~:text=He%20believed%20in%20two%20interrelated,advantage%20relative%20to%20other%20countries.

– Is the theory of comparative advantage overrated? https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2013/09/why-the-theory-of-comparative-advantage-is-overrated.html

– Why free trade matters: https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/why-free-trade-matters-2011-06

– The “Dragonbear” and the rise of the bipolar world: https://medium.com/@vtchakarova/the-russia-china-alliance-what-does-the-dragonbear-aim-to-achieve-in-global-affairs-e09b1add1c4a

– Fairness and free trade: https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-market-economy-status-debate-by-dani-rodrik-2016-05?barrier=accesspaylog

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