Saturday 22 November 2008

Quote of the day

Free trade, one of the greatest blessings which a government can confer on a people, is in almost every country unpopular.

Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1824
Homework problem: Explain why.

2 comments:

mexaguil said...

Everyone wants a bite out of the loot.

Anonymous said...

I would suggest that its because the dependence factor is no longer there. When you remove trade barriers, superior products prevail and inferior ones go away. When you cannot prop of failing interests, politicians that demand protection money, lose an income stream, failing businesses blame competitors rather than themselves and in turn politicians who can no longer depend on predictable largess, turns against the successful companies who no longer need thier protection and demagogue them to the benefit of the failing companies.