When the Left thought free trade meant peace

Alex Middleton

‘‘FREE TRADE IS JESUS CHRIST AND Jesus Christ is Free Trade.” Among the litany of arresting claims made about free exchange in the 250-odd years since Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, this pronouncement by the British utilitarian and colonial official John Bowring in 1841 still stands out. That is not least because he was later responsible for dragging Britain into the Second Opium War, aiming to milk commercial concessions from China. Unfortunately, if not unexpectedly, thousands of deaths ensued. The case crystallises some of the several paradoxes of nineteenth-century free trade. Born out of Scottish moral philosophy, infused with the certainty and fervour of Christian conviction, and backed by the ever more fearsome armouries of global imperialism, the pursuit of open markets was among the most powerful driving…

You're reading a preview of

The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, May 2024

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.