The Me Firsters

Isolation is not Independence

"No man is an island, entire of itself." -- John Donne

   Mercantilism, the bane of history students and Econ 101 acolytes, was put in a backroom of the Academia warehouse long ago, to be taken off a shelf, opened and explained to neophytes. How it worked and why it was counterproductive was a longstanding theme of the syllabus.
   But despite the efforts of economists since the days of Adam Smith, the idea of winner take all and loser get nothing is still the primary goal of many business traders and their government allies.
   "They're taking our jobs, they're taking our factories, and we get nothing," is the chant of nationalistic politicians, and as the chorus revives periodically, the result is often war -- first a trade war of protectionism and high tariffs, then a military war as competitors fight over resources and markets.
   Isolationism, then, can lead to economic death, as import tariffs rise to keep out exports, only causing retaliatory moves by other countries to prevent one side from getting an advantage. Result: Higher prices for consumers in each country. Meanwhile, producers try to hold wages down to stay competitive.
   The consequence is this, as Abraham Lincoln might have put it: A world divided against itself cannot stand.
  Those who ring the bell loudly as they call for walls and isolationist independence should also remember John Donne's conclusion:
 "Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee."