Free Trade: The Great Prosperity Machine

What does trade do? Comparative advantage is the foundation of the division of labor and exchange, but it's rarely understood. "The Great Prosperity Machine" explodes the absurdities of protectionist dogmas by showing what trade accomplishes -- prosperity and peace.

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  News & Politics

[elaleyo]

What a junk, this video is full of stupidity

[gamevalor]

Most people in poor 3rd world countries are eager to work and improve their livelihood. That's how e.g. more than 300 million Chinese became prosperous too. For them it's not "exploitation" because prior to that they had no work, few savings and assets.

People's savings builds up prosperty, not spending.

[MrGoatflakes]

The trouble with "free trade" is that it isn't free trade. It doesn't eliminate the greatest barrier to fair and equitable trade which is the USA's farm subsidies. Instead it just stops governments from making legislations that would hinder US interests.

[Jack Blakey]

The problem with this 'machine' is that your 'cogs' tend to be exploited people in the third world.

[Ben Langley]

As well as the long run increases in overall employment due to efficiency gains, not just the employment which is related to exports/imports. :)

[David Ford]

Great video. It is unfortunate that many people focus on the jobs lost to competing with imports and do not put any focus on the jobs created in export industries, or the lower costs of goods, that happen when free trade is expanded.

[BeYouAndSmile]

that is possible in and in deed is the case in noncompetitive industries, however, free trade is only part of the story. You need competitive industries to translates cuts in costs of production into cuts to costs to consumers. How do you get that? You open deregulate domestic industries and open up to foreign competition to create a competitive industry.

[Gary Adams]

You are just so correct and it's the Republicans and Democrats both that continue to support this disastrous practice on this country. This only benefits the few at the expense of the many, it needs ended.

[mrbwoab]

Yeah, free trade with third-world countries is SO beneficial. You got cars being made in plants where not a single person there has ever driven a car in their lives...much less ever BOUGHT ONE. Then the product makes a U-turn back into the U.S. or Canada, and gets sold at top-dollar as if it were made here - without any reduction in cost to the consumer (but a very big profit for the executives and investors of the "multi-national" corporation).

This is why we have trade deficits since NAFTA.