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Lying about War

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Can we believe the government? For some people, there is no pretense of objectivity about the question. Republicans have no problem doubting the word of a Democrat president, and Democrats are skeptical about Republican chief executives. But that’s politics. For others, it’s a blasphemous question no matter who’s in office. Some would divide the question. They can accept that the government would lie over a domestic issue, such as fudging budget numbers or promising not to raise taxes when a tax increase is on the hidden agenda. But some of those same people would balk at the suggestion that government officials would utter untruths in matters of war and peace. To even suggest it is somehow beyond the pale. It defines the questioner outside of polite society. Be gone, ye doubter! One reason for this reaction is the almost mystical regard ...

A Liberal World Order

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The 20th century opened with great hopes for the future. For almost a hundred years, a major war had not disturbed the peace of Europe. And when military conflicts had broken out among the European nations, they had been localized and limited in both their duration and destruction. Most of the governments of Europe were either democracies or constitutional monarchies. The concept of the rule of law was almost universally endorsed. And throughout most of Europe, individuals could generally feel secure in their life and property. Even the colonial empires seemed benign; the British Empire was the leading example: the British ran their empire as one world-encompassing, free-trade zone — with Englishmen, colonial subjects and foreign traders more or less having the same legal protections and commercial liberty. The 19th century, of course, was not a paradise of freedom and limited government. Governments transgressed their legitimate bounds more often than is remembered. In the last decades of the 19th century, for ...

The Ghost of Protectionism Past: The Return of Friedrich List

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The cover of the December 1993 issue of The Atlantic Monthly had a caricature of Adam Smith running away while being chased by a rain of rotten apples, stones and copies of a book with the name Friedrich List on their covers. The caption under the drawing said, "Move over Adam Smith. Some of the world's strongest economies run on a different philosophy, and the United States had better take heed." Inside, author James Fallows proceeded to explain "How the World Works." Mr. Fallows argued that the world economy does not work on the basis of the principles of free trade. Rather, all countries, great and small, operate their international economic relationships on the basis of managed trade. And if America is to match its competitors and be a winner in the global game of commerce and exchange, the United States should do the same. The guide for winning this game, we were told, is Friedrich List. In the early ...