I cannot understand why there are so many unadvantaged foot soldiers who are willing to sacrifice their lives (and souls) to benefit some big corporations. Are people like Seymour, Jordan Williams, Hartwich or Luke Malpass just dumb, brainwashed, or simply evil? Yes, bring back the weekend
Ricardo's comparative advantage justification for free trade also assumes relatively immobile capital, something that no longer exists. Not that courtesan economists care.
I really appreciated your thoughtful unpicking of the "rock solid economic logic". That passage made me revisit a 2024 Oxfam report which found "the collective fortunes of the Ferrero and Mars families, who own the two biggest private chocolate corporations, surged to $160.9 billion [in 2023]. This is more than the combined GDPs of Ghana and Ivory Coast, which supply most cocoa beans." The benefits don't seem to be very mutual here...
Thanks for reading and for the comment. Yes, it is unfortunately almost always the case that free trade is used as a mechanism to funnel more wealth upwards to the already wealthy. In your case, the local economies of these countries are decimated because all of the profits are being taken offshore to add to the fortunes of these global corporations.
I cannot understand why there are so many unadvantaged foot soldiers who are willing to sacrifice their lives (and souls) to benefit some big corporations. Are people like Seymour, Jordan Williams, Hartwich or Luke Malpass just dumb, brainwashed, or simply evil? Yes, bring back the weekend
They get status and prestige and probably some financial kickbacks as well. But you’re right, I can’t tell if they are true believers or not.
Brilliant essay Ryan thank you.
Cheers!
Ricardo's comparative advantage justification for free trade also assumes relatively immobile capital, something that no longer exists. Not that courtesan economists care.
Right. Because at the time capital was machinery and now it’s financial. Thanks for that.
Yesterday, someone smarter than me said the lack of insurance will bring down Capitalism, I love ironies like that
I really appreciated your thoughtful unpicking of the "rock solid economic logic". That passage made me revisit a 2024 Oxfam report which found "the collective fortunes of the Ferrero and Mars families, who own the two biggest private chocolate corporations, surged to $160.9 billion [in 2023]. This is more than the combined GDPs of Ghana and Ivory Coast, which supply most cocoa beans." The benefits don't seem to be very mutual here...
Thanks for reading and for the comment. Yes, it is unfortunately almost always the case that free trade is used as a mechanism to funnel more wealth upwards to the already wealthy. In your case, the local economies of these countries are decimated because all of the profits are being taken offshore to add to the fortunes of these global corporations.
Thank you for your mahi!
Thank you for reading!