Once again Pat Buchanan is railing against free trade. It’s his right, but to be clear: The only way to impose what he calls “economic nationalism,” or “a new trade policy that puts America and Americans first,” is with a heavy dose of big government. Government so big that it is willing to intervene in millions of voluntary contracts every day.
Trade occurs when two or more people—or collections of people such as organizations or corporations—decide voluntarily to engage in exchange. Trade is a natural part of an economy; it’s what free people do.
That exchange can take place between people in the same city or state, or across city or state lines. No one seems to get too worked up about those exchanges.
What gets Buchanan frazzled is when people buy and sell across national lines. Actually, that overstates the case. He doesn’t mind Americans selling to other countries; he just doesn’t like it when Americans buy from other countries.
But remember, Americans make the choice to buy from people in other countries; the exchange is completely voluntary. To stop those freely chosen interactions, the government must impose some type of restrictions or barriers. That takes an interventionist government.
One way the government can limit trade freedom is by imposing a tariff (i.e., a tax), forcing people to pay more for the foreign product. Yes, the Founding Fathers supported tariffs, but that was the primary way they funded the federal government. They weren’t trying to punish American buyers; the country needed trade because it provided federal revenue.
Alternatively, the government could arbitrarily limit foreign products entering the country, but that creates shortages, waiting lines and higher prices.
Or the government could just prohibit people from buying the otherwise legal products or services at all, and then monitor the public’s actions to make sure they don’t break the law.
Imposing taxes, rationing or monitoring people’s purchases; somehow none of those responses sound very conservative.
Limiting free trade both undermines individual freedom and hinders economic growth—the two key pillars of the conservative vision for society.
January 28, 2014