THE DEFINITION OF A FREE-MARKET TRADE: Each party gives something he or she values less in return for something he or she values more, and both parties benefit. This issue of American Consequences is (mostly) about those benefits. But is there a detrimental side to trade? Trade brings people together, often from very distant and very different places. “Bringing people together” sounds lovely. But anybody who knows anything about people knows that when you bring them together the result can be fun... or mayhem. Think “Wedding reception at about one o’clock in the morning.” Trade itself may be a happy activity, but trade means transport, and transport means trade routes, and trade routes are where people are brought together... not always in a happy way.
By P.J. O'Rourke
American Consequences 71
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