ABSTRACT
This book was motivated in large part by Douglas Irwin’s book,Against the Tide. Irwin argues that economists’ case for free tradehas held up very well against the many attempts by critics of free trade to undermine the case over the past several centuries. Irwin claims that economists have achieved an intellectual victory. In this book, we have taken a skeptical view of this claim of victory. Free trade still remains controversial in the eyes of many people, and policy makers in all countries routinely restrict international trade. The intellectual victories of economists have, clearly, not been powerful enough to convince the average citizen of the merits of free trade. And, with their constituents not convinced, politically motivated policy makers have enjoyed ample leeway to pursue policies that hinder international trade and undermine globalization.
