Constitution Party - California

If you don't read you don't learn. This is the only way to grow and strengthen the mind.

Please please please let me know how you find the reading if/when you get to it. It is necessary background to evaluate the claims made.

I hope you find time to read the recommendations. Even if you just read a little of each you can return later for a more thorough reading.

You could go straight to Economics in one Lesson by Henry Hazlitt. Read the Intro and the chapter "Who's "Protected" by Tariffs?" then the whole book. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics_in_One_Lesson for links to online versions.

Also, "Beware the alchemists" by Mises. This is a great readable work. http://mises.org/daily/2030

Also, Ayn Rand's "Capitalism the unknown Ideal" very powerful collection of essays. some essays online but need to go to the library for this one.

I will give the short answers here since there is plenty good stuff to read which I will recommend:

1. Defining your terms is a good practice. The problem with these definitions is that they permit all kinds of state intervention and assume there are rules. What rules should there be and by whom? Hazlits book shows the fallacy of all such rules.

2. I'm curious about what is "unfair competition"? This cannot exist without the presence and action of the state. This would mean then the problem is the state, not business or competition.

3. Ultimately despite concerns to differing regions and how free trade affects them is not something to worry about. There is no such thing as a stable economy. By it's nature it is dynamic. It is dynamic in the direction of the needs/wants of the people (customers). You will need to use mental experiments to see that this is what is left when government interference is removed. Borders are arbitrary. What is the difference between US Mexico, US Canada, California Texas borders? nothing in principle. They are arbitrary to trade and meaningless. Here Hazlit is also very useful.

4. Free Trade is the application of liberty. Think about this. You cannot be for and against liberty. Economic principles are laws like laws of the natural world. To bend them leads to contradictions. Contradictions are always a sign that there is a flaw in an idea that must be rooted out. Here see mises in "beware the alchemists" and Rand.

5. You are right to suspect the concentration of power. But here there is mistake of what power means. It means POLITICAL POWER not economic "power". Economic power is not dangerous but political power is. A business has no power in the absence of the state and under the law which protects rights. It is at the mercy of the market. It either pleases its customers and thrives or not. Governments do not need to please its citizens. It is the agency of force. the market is the agency of free cooperation.

6. The biggest confusion I see is that people see bad things happen in the market place and blame the market and trade but this is silly. It's like witnessing family infighting or even abuse and concluding the family should be abolished. Production and Trade are not the cause of crimes or immorality. In fact, they are the means of civilization. To hinder trade is to negate rights and retard progress and civilization.

7. We must bridge the gap with the intellectual past. These ideas have their place in classical liberalism. The Austrian school of economics continues today in this tradition. Mises.org is the place to get full access to Austrian books, audio, video and articles. Just like we should never create ends that are at odds with science, we ought never to create social plans that contradict the logical validity of the science of economics.

8. Lastly, history neither teaches nor demonstrates anything by itself. History always has a value framework imposed upon the raw facts that creates meaning. There are Calvinist histories, Catholic histories, Tory histories, Whig histories, Marxist histories etc. The lessons of history derive from the values a person uses to interpret the facts of history. This does not take away from the value of history, it creates it, but it does mean we need to be aware of the values we and historians impose on it.

hope you find this useful,
Sincerely,
Albert Rubio