codarac wrote:
This is no surprise, nor is it a recent development. In fact, the Left’s support of free trade can be traced all the way back to Karl Marx, who in 1848 said:
But, in general, the protective system of our day is conservative, while the free trade system is destructive. It breaks up old nationalities and pushes the antagonism of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie to the extreme point. In a word, the free trade system hastens the social revolution. It is in this revolutionary sense alone, gentlemen, that I vote in favor of free trade.
This person completely misunderstands Marx.
Marx did not support free trade because he
liked it. On the contrary, he despised it. He supported it because he saw it as producing more alienation among the proletariat and, consequently, hastening revolution.
09 Feb 2008, 6:32 pm
