> the truth is, on balance free trade is better for the world and for every nation in it;
Well not quite. Free trade is better for every nation after they have achieved development and wealth. Pretty much all of whom got wealthy by pointedly ignoring free trade.
There's a decent book from 10 or 15 years ago by Ha-Joon Chang called Bad Samaritans that explores globalisation, free trade and in particular the insistence of WTO, World Bank and developed nations forcing free trade on the developing world as a condition of loan, or agreements.
He makes a pretty decent case that free trade is only suitable after you've arrived. More to the point, it's not mere theory, but an exploration of what has actually happened in various nations around the world.
Well not quite. Free trade is better for every nation after they have achieved development and wealth. Pretty much all of whom got wealthy by pointedly ignoring free trade.
There's a decent book from 10 or 15 years ago by Ha-Joon Chang called Bad Samaritans that explores globalisation, free trade and in particular the insistence of WTO, World Bank and developed nations forcing free trade on the developing world as a condition of loan, or agreements.
He makes a pretty decent case that free trade is only suitable after you've arrived. More to the point, it's not mere theory, but an exploration of what has actually happened in various nations around the world.
Edit: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1032019.Bad_Samaritans