Re: priming the world pump

[Bruce McFarling <brmcf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

While browsing pkt this morning, I stumbled across this howler:


>      In general, my belief is that the Invisible Hand had a reasonable trial
> run during the 19th Century, and that we do not need to spend the next
> century re-learning those lessons.

Thornton Wheeler replies:
	"Protection was paramount in the 19th century. ..."

Rolling on the Floor Laughing.  May I suggest you read a
little teesny bit of global history?  The Mexican Revolution didn't happen
until the 1900's: Protection in Latin America in general was at an all
time low in the 19th century compared to before *and* after.  One of the
'best' uses of the Invisible Hand in a nationalistic sense (and *not* in a
Pareto optimality sense!), is to pick the pockets of the wealthy elites of
a country as you provide them with a visible hand helping them extract it
in the first place.  As Great Britain experienced in Latin America at the
time.  Tariffs plus shipping costs on goods imported to the U.S. falling
pretty much steadily throughout the period.  Encouraging opium addiction
in China in support of the China trade.  'Protection was paramount in the
19th century.'  What a Hoot!

Virtually,

Bruce McFarling, Knoxville
brmcf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx