Reply #51: It sounds like protectionism dressed up as "free trade."

[mattclearing]

I believe in free trade in principle, which is far cry from what our government tries to pass off as free trade.

All trade enriches the already wealthy, so people who think "oh, it helps corporations, it's bad," aren't really seeing the whole picture.

I think that overall, free trade helps to raise wages in weak economies and provides the basis for industry in undeveloped countries.

It's a slow process, and one that undoubtedly is painful and has nasty side effects. I do believe it is better than protectionism, though, because overall, it works to share the wealth of nations such as the United States with the third world, slowing growing their economies into something more first-world like.

Labor standards would be nice, but we can't always expect another country to take care of their workers like we do. Industry requires support systems to be developed for its workers, both private and governmental. That takes time.

Overall, I think it's a good thing for the world in the long run.