This book is a study of how free trade came to occupy such a commanding position in economics and how it has maintained its
intellectual strength despite the numerous arguments that have arisen against it over the past two centuries. The author is Henry Wendt Scholar in Political Economy at AEI. A summary of the book follows.
The
proposition that free trade is economically more beneficial than protection is one of the most fundamental that economic theory has to offer for economic policy. This proposition has survived repeated scrutiny from
economists ever since Adam Smith made his celebrated case for free trade in the Wealth of Nations (1776), and it continues to receive overwhelming support from professional economists today.