I'm 100% for Free Markets.  I'd like to ask some opinions though on the  issue of International Trade.
Prior to the American Civil War,  the economy of the South was driven by slavery.  There were people then,  as there are today, who believe this should have been resolved with  respect to the 10th Amendment (let the States decide).  Some apologists  believe that slavery would eventually have ended in due course.  A  million deaths later and we had the 13th and 14th Amendments.
Today  we are confronted with an entire world driven into poverty and virtual  slavery.  Corporations, backed by the CIA and US Military, have  corrupted governments to allow easy access to raw materials, oil and  cheap labor.  This undermines our own manufacturing base in the US  leading to pressure for lower wages here.  The facts are there to see.
We  have pesky "minimum wage" laws here in the US without which our wages  would normalize with foreign labor.  Protectionist tariffs are intended  to force higher prices on imports as a price support for domestic labor costs.   These are both subjects of incessant attack by those arguing for "Free  Trade", and has been a strong part of LP economic policy since the  beginning.
The relationship between Pennsylvania and South  Carolina was much the same.  There were no tariffs between the States.   Manufacturers in PA enjoyed cheap cotton etc..  It was a free market,  and it worked great for everyone.. except the slaves of course.
Today  we import from Indonesia, China, South America, Mexico and Africa under  a similar arrangement.  We recognize an international version of the  10th Amendment with these countries, to allow them to violate the rights  and liberties of their populations, as long as our loans are recognized  and our contracts enforced.
Personally, I believe that accepting  stolen property makes one culpable.  Accepting contracts with dictators  is to sign on with those dictators.  Trade isn't "free" when one of the  parties are coerced.  And allowing corporations to act as free agents of  US foreign policy, to corrupt governments as in Ecuador, Panama,  Indonesia, Liberia, Iraq, you name it, all backed by threats of  assassination, coup and invasion, isn't a policy of "free trade", but  one of colonialism.
I am not a supporter of NAFTA, the North  American "Free Trade" Agreement, but I was never sure just why.  It  seemed to me like the Fugitive Slave Act.  Neither am I a supporter of  reducing the federal minimum wage.  We are culpable for the injustices  of our government, and we should be considering ways to rectify the  situation.
Any thoughts?
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