A country that selfishly protects itself, regardless of the welfare of others, deserves the fate it will receive, since of course others will treat it accordingly, and make its exports unafforable, destroying jobs. This is called a trade war and hurts everyone -- it was just the sort of thinking I see above that led to the Great Depression.
If I can buy a shirt of higher quality and less expensively (including the value of my time) rather than make it myself, then it is stupid for me not to buy it. If an industry can out-source some product or service it needs cheaper and better than if it does it in house, then it is stupid for that company not to do so.
What protectionism and tariffs and trade quotas do is coddle inefficient local industries. Capitalism that works well depends on all businesses being under constant pressure to do things cheaper, more efficiently, and better, and managers and workers who don't understand this and who are not willing to constantly reinvent themselves are soon poor or bankrupt. Countries are the same -- high protective tariffs merely reduce the standard of living of the general population by allowing local industries to produce goods not up to international standards and prices. In the end those countries who protect local business least are the countries that do best.
I think the real patriot is not the person waving the flag around shouting about foreign competition but the person who works hard to meet the challenges of foreign competition -- and does not stupidly insist one's country not buy from other countries those things other countries can produce better, but instead concentrates on those things one can do better locally and outsources other things.
No comments:
Post a Comment