Friday, March 6, 2015

Free Trade and World Peace


            In regards on how to deal with a nation that has strong military, which instills fear into the hearts of nations, I would offer a different approach than meeting force with force. Adam Smith and his economic work, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, promoted the idea of free trade and its economic benefits to the world as a whole. Assistant Professor of Economics at Duquesne University, Pavel Yakovlev, has looked at the principles of free trade and teaches that it can also “promote international peace.”[1]
            Professor Yakovlev explains that it is in a country’s best interest to not wage war if they participate in free trade. Mutual free trade creates an “interdependence [that] gives countries a strong incentive to keep hostilities low.”[2] These hostilities are reduced because of the openness and cultural understanding that comes from free trade. As nations trade openly with one another, they not only exchange goods, but they “exchange…ideas and culture” as well.[3] Thus, nations come to better understand one another, grow to appreciate “each other’s differences,” and are overall more tolerant.[4]
            The opposite approach to trade brings war. The European colonization period is a perfect example of this. The economic pushes of mercantilism by the various European nations lead to the first world war, The French and Indian War or The Seven Years War. The classic liberal and political economist, Frédéric Bastiat said, “If goods can’t cross borders, armies will.”[5] It only stands to reason that if more nations promoted free trade, then more nations would have less need for strong militaries.

Bibliography

Yakovlev, Pavel. “Does Trade Promote Peace?” Learn Liberty. March 13, 2012. http://www.learnliberty.org/videos/does-trade-promote-peace/.





[1] Pavel Yakovlev, “Does Trade Promote Peace?” Learn Liberty, March 13, 2012, http://www.learnliberty.org/videos/does-trade-promote-peace/.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid. 

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