etween tribes. Drawn with the broadest brush, the argument comes down to how much we perceive ourselves part of the international community and how much we wish to keep our tribe/estate/city-state/country separate from, and richer than, its neighbors.Most economists agree that, at least in principle, free trade results in the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Suppose Country A grows kumquats better than Country B, but Country B makes widgets more cheaply; if Country A specializes in kumquats and trades some with Country B in exchange for widgets and vice versa, both will be better off.According to this widely-accepted theory, both countries are better off under free trade rules even if one country is better at everything. In this case, the less efficient country will have lower wage rates than the more efficient one, but will specialize in the goods it produces most cheaply relative to others--and both will wind up richer through trade than through isolation.However, free trade does have a disadvantage: Even if it works for the benefit of everyone in the long term, in the short term there are often dislocations. If America opens its textiles market to cheaper imports from Mexico, American textile workers lose jobs. Of course, American consumers benefit from cheaper clothes, and spend the money they save on other goods, thus creating jobs in other areas--but in the short term, a lot of textile workers have lost their jobs and have a hard time finding new ones. And the pain is concentrated, while the benefits are diffuse; the people who lose their jobs will complain bitterly, while the people who find slightly cheaper clothes at the mall may not even realize why prices have dropped.The argument for free trade has another disadvantage: It's counterintuitive. People seem comfortable believing that exporting is good, while importing is bad. Of course, this is oversimplified; if the Japanese make better stereos, we do ourselves...
