Here’s a letter to the Wall Street Journal:
Re “So Much Trade Losing” (July 7):
Trade wars are the only wars in which each government willingly attacks its own citizens in the hope of forcing other governments to stop attacking their own citizens.
And so in the now-raging U.S.-China trade war, Beijing is fighting (in fact, if not intentionally) to defend the interests of the American people against Washington while Washington is fighting (in fact, if not intentionally) to defend the interests of the Chinese people against Beijing.
Protectionism – the myth that more is less if the more comes from abroad – turns the world topsy-turvy. Up becomes down. Logic becomes illogical. Reason becomes irrational. Defense against others becomes offense against self.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
and
Martha and Nelson Getchell Chair for the Study of Free Market Capitalism at the Mercatus Center
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
