Understanding Free Trade's
Basic Principles

National Public Radio resurrected a segment recently called “This I believe.” People from all walks of life recite essays—in a clear, strong and decisive voice—describing exactly what they have come to know of the world.

The first time I heard the broadcast, I was overwhelmed with envy.

It seems I am in a perpetual search for certainty in my life. There was the time in college when I joined a cult. Ok, my friends called it a cult because the members smiled vacuously, lived and prayed together constantly, and went to church so often I lost count (for a lapsed Catholic like me, that was probably the hardest requirement).

I wasn’t interested in drinking the Kool-Aid, but boy did I want their conviction! While I struggled to make sense of how I felt about anything--from feminist theory to veganism to war--these folks had answers. They knew, for example, that if you do not belong to the one TRUE church, you are going to hell.

The various camps that have sprouted up around the free trade issue at times remind me of a religious cult.

Whether they support or oppose free trade, some people see the principle in purely black and white terms; either trade is all-good or it is all-bad. The truth, of course, is somewhere in the middle.

Free trade is not a religion. We do not get into heaven based on the purity of our adherence to dogma. Trade is a tool we must manage in pursuit of the ultimate aim of freedom. What if I'm wrong? Well, then I guess I'm going to hell!

The essays in this section explore the middle path:

• What is free trade anyway? How does it relate to globalization?
• What is the World Trade Organization?
• What is protectionism, and when is it permissible?
• What does the trade deficit really mean?

Here, you will find information about these and other topics on the basics of free trade to help you form your own opinion on the matter.