What Is Free Trade?

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About this book

Cheap goods and plentiful supplies sit at the heart of this argument against protective tariffs. Adapted for American readers from Frédéric Bastiat's economic essays, the book examines how restrictions on trade affect producers, consumers and the price of everyday necessities. Its opening contrasts the seller's interest in scarcity with the buyer's interest in abundance, using iron, coffee, clothing and fuel to make the distinction concrete.

Short chapters address wages, taxes, national independence and the balance of trade. Imagined conversations and pointed humor turn policy claims into practical examples: a customs officer insists that a worker accept less lace in an exchange, while another passage compares barriers to commerce with costly roads and rivers. Readers interested in economic argument can follow the book's case for judging national prosperity by the goods people can obtain.