Protection or Free Trade

Protection or Free Trade is a book published in 1886 by the economist and social philosopher, Henry George. Its sub-title is An Examination of the Tariff Question with Especial Regard to the Interests of Labor. As the title suggests, George examined the debate between protectionism and free trade.^[1]

"True free trade"

George defended what he considered "true free trade". For him, this required free trade to be coupled with the treatment of land as common property:

Free trade means free production. Now fully to free production it is necessary not only to remove all taxes on production, but also to remove all other restrictions on production. True free trade, in short, requires that the active factor of production, Labor, shall have free access to the passive factor of production, Land. To secure this all monopoly of land must be broken up, and the equal right of all to the use of the natural elements must be secured by the treatment of the land as the common property in usufruct of the whole people.^[2]

Table of contents

The table of contents are as follows:^[3]

• Chapter 1 — Introductory
• Chapter 2 — Clearing Ground
• Chapter 3 — Protection as a Universal Need
• Chapter 4 — Trade
• Chapter 5 — Protection and Producers
• Chapter 6 — Tariffs for Revenue
• Chapter 7 — Tariffs for Protection
• Chapter 8 — The Encouragement of Industry
• Chapter 9 — Exports and Imports
• Chapter 10 — Confusions Arising from the Use of Money
• Chapter 11 — Do High Wages Necessitate Protection?
• Chapter 12 — Of Advantages and Disadvantages as Reasons for Protection
• Chapter 13 — Protection and Producers
• Chapter 14 — Protection and Wages
• Chapter 15 — The Abolition of Protection
• Chapter 16 — Inadequacy of the Free Trade Argument
• Chapter 17 — The Real Strength of Protection
• Chapter 18 — The Paradox
• Chapter 19 — The Robber that Takes All that is Left
• Chapter 20 — True Free Trade
• Chapter 21 — Free Trade and Socialism
• Chapter 22 — Practical Politics
• Chapter 23 — Appendices

See also

• Georgism

References

Further reading

• De Coster, K. (2006). Henry George and the Tariff Question - at Mises Daily
• Martin, T. L. (2001). Protection or free trade: An analysis of the ideas of Henry George on international commerce and wages - International Trade. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 60, 119-136.

External links

Online editions of Protection or Free Trade

• At truefreetrade.org
• At econlib.org
• At mises.org
• At schalkenbach.org
• At The Online Library of Liberty

Study guides

• Applied Economics: Globalization & Trade