In doing an earlier post today I was reminded of a key early part of The Wealth of Nations. Smith discusses the Act of Union which established a free trade area between England and Scotland at the beginning of the 18th Century. Smith's insight about this Act was relevant to Senator Obama's discussion of NAFTA.
Before the Act of Union, England and Scotland were separate both politically and economically. Scotland suffered from limited access to trade. Smith concluded that after the Act, Scotland was able to develop economically and as importantly intellectually because of its access to both kinds of markets.
NAFTA and the Act of Union are not entirely similar because NAFTA does not include political union, however, the economic benefits to both countries are no less clear. It is unfortunate that Senator Obama does not recognize either that long ago history or some much closer to today.
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