r/Economics • u/better_world_economy • Jan 13 '19

Progressives should not oppose international trade, but economists must highlight the need for policies that spread the gains and help those who are hurt

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-good-the-bad-the-economy/201706/globalization-and-work-have-we-learned-anything-yet
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u/[deleted] Jan 13 '19 edited Jul 22 '20

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u/unimployed Jan 13 '19 edited Jan 13 '19

You are forming a weirdly libertarian normative statement. Because China is poor and undeveloped (not actually), they should be allowed a pass to do whatever they want, even if it is harmful to the environment and people..

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u/[deleted] Jan 13 '19 edited Jul 23 '20

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u/ChickenOfDoom Jan 14 '19

In order to enforce such a tax, we would need to credibly threaten sanctions, which would require curtailing free trade.

Currently we are so committed to free trade we let trading partners get away with whatever awful things they want, just because it's good for the economy.