Re: priming the world pump

[Thornton Wheeler <twheeler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 25 Apr 1995, Bruce McFarling wrote:

> 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!

Not so sure why you needed that "hoot" and howl" Bruce.  After doing some
checking, I concluded that you must be reading those revisionist
historians.  During my lunch break, I went to the basement of Littauer to
check the "Protectionist" shelf.

I found an interesting quote:

"Countries like the United States, Russia and to a lesser extent
Austria-Hungary and France stayed protectionist throughout the 19th and
part of the 20th centuries.  Continental Europe went Protectionist in the
late 1870's and early 1880's."

Giersch, Herbert. 1986. FREE TRADE IN THE WORLD ECONOMY SYMPOSIUM. J.C.B.
	Mohr. p.21.  Call# HF 1703 F74 X. 1987

I will eat a little crow on Britain with some qualifications, if you do
so on the remainder.