Is free trade good or bad?

[Gertrude]

The basic rationale for free (international) trade, as originally espoused by Adam Smith, was that all countries would ulimately benefit.

The linked article seems interesting as it (correctly) points out that there will be winners and losers in the participating countries.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38209407

[Ben Kenobi]

It's possible to gain and still be the loser in the trade.

[Uncle Sparky]

Free trade without labour rights is good for making the rich amazingly rich, and keeping the poor poor.

[Aeson]

Free Trade is in-and-of-itself good. (With exceptions ... like you have to restrict trade of people.)

There are other factors that can screw it (or anything) up though. Like lack of worker protections, lack of environmental protections, extractive businesses, corruption, low wages, etc.

[Kidlicious]

A lot of stuff looks better on paper. Free trade has created growth but not nearly as much as has been claimed and it has harmed the losers.

[giblets]

It provides a great excuse to blame your country's problems on foreigners.

[Elok]

It's bad because it causes long, pedantic arguments about what's really "free trade" vs "free markets" vs "capitalism" vs "laissez-faire capitalism" vs some other damn thing.

[ZEE]

Elok is a nerd.

[Ben Kenobi]

Weird, a topic where Aeson and I are on one side...

[Aeson]

I can't be right about everything ...

[Aeson]

It's bad because it causes long, pedantic arguments about what's really "free trade" vs "free markets" vs "capitalism" vs "laissez-faire capitalism" vs some other damn thing.

This is why everything in the world is bad ...

[BeBMan]

I guess it's better than unfree trade. But if trade is not free, you can read "free trade!" as imperative.

[Sir Og]

Free trade is good. There might be individuals who are harmed but overall the effect is positive. The fashionable Autor at al. study does not show that free trade is bad. It only show that it is possible to find individuals who are harmed by trade. It does not show in any way that free trade is bad overall.
The effect of trade is similar to the effect of technological progress. I guess people who think tech progress is bad would be against trade too.


Even sweatshops seem to be good because people seem to prefer them over the alternatives.

[Aeson]

Sweatshops aren't good, but they may be somewhat less bad than other imminently existent alternatives.

A worldwide minimum wage and/or earned income credit (phased in) that resulted in all jobs paying decent wages would be good. Worldwide so that rather than a race to the cheapest labor, jobs could go where the workforce was most qualified and transport of materials and goods to market made the most efficient use of energy.

[Kidlicious]

Sweatshops aren't good, but they may be somewhat less bad than other imminently existent alternatives.

A worldwide minimum wage and/or earned income credit (phased in) that resulted in all jobs paying decent wages would be good. Worldwide so that rather than a race to the cheapest labor, jobs could go where the workforce was most qualified and transport of materials and goods to market made the most efficient use of energy.

Those who lose jobs in the developed countries don't prefer them to having good jobs and not having their communities turned to rust.

[Aeson]

Interpreter?