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Comment by smallmancontrov

7 days ago

Yes! "Trade Wars are Class Wars" by Klein & Pettis is the book to read if you want to hear actual economists with actual data talk about this.

For what it's worth Pettis thinks tariffs would be beneficial for the American economy: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/how-tariffs-can...

  • I read this and I was quite disappointed that he didn’t talk about labor costs and other comparative advantages for labor-heavy manufacturing to be in a different situation trade market-wise than it was in the 1930s.

    • He does talk about comparative advantage, though. Extensively. The bit about Ricardo's precondition is absolutely wild and I'm more than a little scandalized by the fact that it wasn't discussed when I took econ in school. Not to mention the history with Alexander Hamilton.

      Are you sure you didn't just read the link? If you want a book-sized argument, you need to read the book, or at least listen to it.