He Shops; He Pays; He Scores!
11 December 2006
Editor, The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
To make an even more compelling case for free trade, Sebastian Mallaby should avoid sports metaphors. For example, by writing that the WTO's purpose is "to keep the trade playing field balanced" ("Cracking the Currency Puzzle," Dec. 11), he lends credence to the protectionist illusion that trade is a zero-sum contest among producers to see which ones can score the most exports.
In truth, trade is a positive-sum process by which consumers seek the best available deals. Trade's benefits are measured ultimately in consumer satisfaction, not in producer output or profits. And while foreign-governments' trade interventions should be criticized, the problems with such interventions are not that they harm "our" producers but that they harm foreign consumers and taxpayers.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Editor, The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
To make an even more compelling case for free trade, Sebastian Mallaby should avoid sports metaphors. For example, by writing that the WTO's purpose is "to keep the trade playing field balanced" ("Cracking the Currency Puzzle," Dec. 11), he lends credence to the protectionist illusion that trade is a zero-sum contest among producers to see which ones can score the most exports.
In truth, trade is a positive-sum process by which consumers seek the best available deals. Trade's benefits are measured ultimately in consumer satisfaction, not in producer output or profits. And while foreign-governments' trade interventions should be criticized, the problems with such interventions are not that they harm "our" producers but that they harm foreign consumers and taxpayers.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Thursday August 23, 2007 at 11:56am