Trade Brings Peace
February 15th 2010 22:07
From Jonathan Sacks book, Dignity of Difference:
This relates well to the post I did earlier on Russ Roberts' podcast. There are three ways in which a country can improve its well-being. Historically speaking, the most popular way to do this is by violence: stealing from your neighbor. This method, however, produces a winner and a loser. The other methods, which Roberts shows are really equivalent, are technology that increases productivity, along with trade.
The difference between trade and war is that in trade both sides should win. This means that violence is not necessary to create wealth for a nation. As countries become more intertwined with each other in the global economy, the cost of going to war also becomes much higher, as you would lose the benefits of trading with another country if you try to invade their country. Yet another benefit of globalization seems to be that of bringing the world closer to a global peace.
Follow me on Twitter: @AGoldenDoor
If the price of war has become too high, which it has, we will have to value the habits of trade—the only thing that—throughout history, has brought tribes and nations together, benefiting from one another and from their several and different skills. The interlinking of nations in a network of trade causes many problems to which I now turn. But it is also our last best hope for peace. Unlike the battlefield, the market is an arena in which both sides can win.
This relates well to the post I did earlier on Russ Roberts' podcast. There are three ways in which a country can improve its well-being. Historically speaking, the most popular way to do this is by violence: stealing from your neighbor. This method, however, produces a winner and a loser. The other methods, which Roberts shows are really equivalent, are technology that increases productivity, along with trade.
The difference between trade and war is that in trade both sides should win. This means that violence is not necessary to create wealth for a nation. As countries become more intertwined with each other in the global economy, the cost of going to war also becomes much higher, as you would lose the benefits of trading with another country if you try to invade their country. Yet another benefit of globalization seems to be that of bringing the world closer to a global peace.
Follow me on Twitter: @AGoldenDoor
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