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''Protection or Free Trade'' is a book published in 1886 by the
economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
and social philosopher,
Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...
. Its sub-title is ''An Examination of the Tariff Question with Especial Regard to the Interests of Labor.'' As the title suggests, George examined the debate between
protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulation ...
and
free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...
. George was opposed to
tariffs A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and po ...
, which were at the time both the major method of
protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
trade policy and an important source of federal revenue. He argued that tariffs kept prices high for consumers, while failing to produce any increase in overall wages. He also believed that tariffs protected monopolistic companies from competition, thus augmenting their power. Like ''
Progress and Poverty ''Progress and Poverty: An Inquiry into the Cause of Industrial Depressions and of Increase of Want with Increase of Wealth: The Remedy'' is an 1879 book by social theorist and economist Henry George. It is a treatise on the questions of why pover ...
'', much of the book was devoted to attacking privileges, such as land monopoly, which limit trade and rob value from producers. Largely as a result of this book, free trade became a major issue in federal politics. ''Protection or Free Trade'' was the first book to be read entirely into the
Congressional Record The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Inde ...
. It was read aloud by five Democratic congressmen.


"True free trade"

George defended what he considered "true free trade". For him, this required free trade to be coupled with the treatment of
land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isla ...
as
common property Common ownership refers to holding the assets of an organization, enterprise or community indivisibly rather than in the names of the individual members or groups of members as common property. Forms of common ownership exist in every econo ...
:
Free trade means free production. Now fully to free production it is necessary not only to remove all taxes on production, but also to remove all other restrictions on production. True free trade, in short, requires that the active factor of production, Labor, shall have free access to the passive factor of production, Land. To secure this all monopoly of land must be broken up, and the equal right of all to the use of the natural elements must be secured by the treatment of the land as the common property in
usufruct Usufruct () is a limited real right (or ''in rem'' right) found in civil-law and mixed jurisdictions that unites the two property interests of ''usus'' and ''fructus'': * ''Usus'' (''use'') is the right to use or enjoy a thing possessed, direct ...
of the whole people.


Acclaim

In 1997, Spencer MacCallum wrote that Henry George was "undeniably the greatest writer and orator on free trade who ever lived." In 2009,
Tyler Cowen Tyler Cowen (; born January 21, 1962) is an American economist, columnist and blogger. He is a professor at George Mason University, where he holds the Holbert L. Harris chair in the economics department. He hosts the economics blog ''Marginal R ...
wrote that George's 1886 book ''Protection or Free Trade'' "remains perhaps the best-argued tract on free trade to this day." Jim Powell said that ''Protection or Free Trade'' was probably the best book on trade written by anyone in the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
, comparing it
Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——� ...
's '' Wealth of Nations''.
Milton Friedman Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the ...
said it was the most rhetorically brilliant work ever written on trade. Friedman also paraphrased one of George's arguments in favor of free trade: "It’s a very interesting thing that in times of war, we blockade our enemies in order to prevent them from getting goods from us. In time of peace we do to ourselves by tariffs what we do to our enemy in time of war.”
Oswald Garrison Villard Oswald Garrison Villard (March 13, 1872 – October 1, 1949) was an American journalist and editor of the ''New York Evening Post.'' He was a civil rights activist, and along with his mother, Fanny Villard, a founding member of the NAACP. ...
said, "Few men made more stirring and valuable contributions to the economic life of modern America than did Henry George," and that what George had "written about protection and free trade is as fresh and as valuable today as it was at the hour in which it was penned."


Table of contents

The table of contents are as follows:Table of contents for ''Protection or Free Trade''
/ref> * Chapter 1 – Introductory * Chapter 2 – Clearing Ground * Chapter 3 – Protection as a Universal Need * Chapter 4 – Trade * Chapter 5 – Protection and Producers * Chapter 6 – Tariffs for Revenue * Chapter 7 – Tariffs for Protection * Chapter 8 – The Encouragement of Industry * Chapter 9 – Exports and Imports * Chapter 10 – Confusions Arising from the Use of Money * Chapter 11 – Do High Wages Necessitate Protection? * Chapter 12 – Of Advantages and Disadvantages as Reasons for Protection * Chapter 13 – Protection and Producers * Chapter 14 – Protection and Wages * Chapter 15 – The Abolition of Protection * Chapter 16 – Inadequacy of the Free Trade Argument * Chapter 17 – The Real Strength of Protection * Chapter 18 – The Paradox * Chapter 19 – The Robber that Takes All that is Left * Chapter 20 – True Free Trade * Chapter 21 – Free Trade and Socialism * Chapter 22 – Practical Politics * Chapter 23 – Appendices


See also

*
Georgism Georgism, also called in modern times Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that, although people should own the value they produce themselves, the economic rent derived from land—includi ...


References


External links


Online editions of ''Protection or Free Trade''


At truefreetrade.org

At mises.org



At The Online Library of Liberty
{{DEFAULTSORT:Protection Or Free Trade 1886 non-fiction books Classical liberalism Books about economic policy Georgist publications Protectionism Free trade