China Bashing May Sell Well But That Doesn’t Make it Right: New at Reason

There is nothing like a little China bashing to get votes (except maybe immigrant bashing). So the fact that Bernie and Donald have turned protectionist is no surprise. But what is surprising is that they are being aided in their efforts by the economist profession that for about 250 years since Adam Smith wrote the Wealth of Nations has been steadily moving in a pro-trade direction. Now, however, a new cohort of liberal economists, with Paul Krugman as their cheerleader (who else?), has been raising alarms that trade with China in particular may have been bad for the American working class.

 But, notes Reason Foundation Senior Analyst Shikha Dalmia, it’s far from clear that the working class is in decline or that China is to blame or that cutting trade with it will help rather than hurt. If politicos want to do something to give working Americans a leg up, they might want to rethink the policies inhibiting their animal spirits.

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