Adam Smith and David Ricardo gave different if complementary arguments for free trade and open markets. Unfortunately, although more people would find Smith’s case compelling, neoclassical economists usually articulate Ricardo’s case, resulting in less public support for the open trade policies that economists overwhelmingly support.
James M. Buchanan, Jr. (1919–2013) was the Emeritus University Professor of Economics in the Center for the Study of Public Choice at George Mason University of the winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
Yong J. Yoon is a senior fellow of the Center for Study of Public Choice, George Mason University.
Defense and Foreign PolicyEconomistsEconomyInternational Economics and DevelopmentPhilosophy and ReligionPublic ChoiceTrade
Other Independent Review articles by James M. Buchanan, Jr.
Summer 2000 The Soul of Classical Liberalism