ABSTRACT
Rarely have such abstract ideas become so directly relevant to public life. The results of general equilibrium theory, popularized as the magic of the invisible hand, lead straight to a prescription for trade policy. The connection to economic theory invests that policy position with the aura of established, scientific truth. “This task of ceaselessly defending our scientific findings in favor of free trade (and indeed of other economic wisdom) is an obligation that I teach tirelessly to my students,” says Columbia University economist Jagdish Bhagwati, one of the leading academic proponents of free trade (2002: 9).
