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One of the Most Famous Ideas in Economics Is Wrong
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One of the Most Famous Ideas in Economics Is Wrong

History shows that free trade can’t buy world peace.

Jacob Soll
Politico Magazine, 2022
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It’s wishful thinking to believe that free trade can solve geopolitical strife, notes professor Jacob Soll in this thought-provoking essay. History shows that the idea that free markets can rein in bullying regimes has little substance. Rather than leading governments to seek peace and harmony, free trade has most often come about through coercion – sometimes from behind the barrel of a gun. Soll’s sobering assessment reckons that geopolitical tensions are now testing democracy, as the world teeters on the brink of recession.

Summary

The notion that free markets foster peace has historical roots.

The idea that open trade leads nations to pursue mutual interests rather than impassioned conflict surfaced in the 1600s in humanist philosophy. Humanists endeavored to understand the rights of individuals and commerce through a reading of classical doctrine.

Proponents argued that free trade would control human avarice and bring prosperity to all. The 17th-century Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius contended that the divinely bestowed elements of air and water were accessible to all, permitting all countries to trade with whomever they chose. A century later, the French philosopher Montesquieu posited that “‘gentle commerce’ would replace the warring...

About the Author

Jacob Soll is a professor of philosophy, history and accounting at the University of Southern California.

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