The Conservative Case Against Free Trade

The Conservative Case Against Free Trade

Author: William Shearer

Publisher:

Published: 2012-03-01

Total Pages: 26

ISBN-13: 9781468184785

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Explains why free trade is bad for America from a conservative point of view. The authors are conservative activist William Shearer and economist Ian Fletcher.


Towards an Imperfect Union

Towards an Imperfect Union

Author: Dalibor Rohac

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2016-04-22

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 1442270659

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In today’s Europe, deep cracks are showing in the system of political cooperation that was designed to prevent the geopolitical catastrophes that ravaged the continent in the first half of the twentieth century. Europeans are haunted, once again, by the specters of nationalism, fascism, and economic protectionism. Instead of sounding the alarm, many conservatives have become cheerleaders for the demise of the European Union (EU). This compelling book represents the first systematic attempt to justify the European project from a free-market, conservative viewpoint. Although many of their criticisms are justified, Dalibor Rohac contends that Euroskeptics are playing a dangerous game. Their rejection of European integration places them in the unsavory company of nationalists, left-wing radicals, and Putin apologists. Their defense of the nation-state against Brussels, furthermore, is ahistorical. He convincingly shows that the flourishing of democracy and free markets in Europe has gone hand in hand with the integration project. Europe’s pre-EU past, in contrast, was marked by a series of geopolitical calamities. When British voters make their decision in June, they should remember that while Brexit would not be a political or economic disaster for the United Kingdom, it would not solve any of the problems that the “Leavers” associate with EU membership. Worse yet, its departure from the European Union would strengthen the centrifugal forces that are already undermining Europe's ability to solve the multitude of political, economic, and security challenges plaguing the continent today. Instead of advocating for the end of the EU, Rohac argues that conservatives must come to the rescue of the integration project by helping to reduce the EU’s democratic deficit and turning it into an engine of economic dynamism and prosperity. For the author’s video on Brexit, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFReUnO05Fo


Let's Be Reasonable

Let's Be Reasonable

Author: Jonathan Marks

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2023-01-31

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0691207720

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A conservative college professor's compelling defense of liberal education Not so long ago, conservative intellectuals such as William F. Buckley Jr. believed universities were worth fighting for. Today, conservatives seem more inclined to burn them down. In Let's Be Reasonable, conservative political theorist and professor Jonathan Marks finds in liberal education an antidote to this despair, arguing that the true purpose of college is to encourage people to be reasonable—and revealing why the health of our democracy is at stake. Drawing on the ideas of John Locke and other thinkers, Marks presents the case for why, now more than ever, conservatives must not give up on higher education. He recognizes that professors and administrators frequently adopt the language and priorities of the left, but he explains why conservative nightmare visions of liberal persecution and indoctrination bear little resemblance to what actually goes on in college classrooms. Marks examines why advocates for liberal education struggle to offer a coherent defense of themselves against their conservative critics, and demonstrates why such a defense must rest on the cultivation of reason and of pride in being reasonable. More than just a campus battlefield guide, Let's Be Reasonable recovers what is truly liberal about liberal education—the ability to reason for oneself and with others—and shows why the liberally educated person considers reason to be more than just a tool for scoring political points.


Defending the Free Market

Defending the Free Market

Author: Robert Sirico

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2012-05-21

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1596988118

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Thirty years ago, the economic system of the Soviet empire—socialism—seemed definitively discredited. Today, the most popular figures in the Democratic Party embrace it, while the shapers of public opinion treat capitalism as morally indefensible. Is there a moral case for capitalism? Consumerism is an appalling spectacle. Free markets may be efficient, but are they fair? Aren’t there some things that we can’t afford to leave to the vicissitudes of the market? Robert Sirico, a onetime leftist, shows how a free economy—including private property, legally enforceable contracts, and prices and interest rates freely agreed to by the parties to a transaction—is the best way to meet society’s material needs. In fact, the free market has lifted millions out of dire poverty—far more people than state welfare or private charity has ever rescued from want. But efficiency isn’t its only virtue. Economic freedom is indispensable for the other freedoms we prize. And it’s not true that it makes things more important than people—just the reverse. Only if we have economic rights can we protect ourselves from government encroachment into the most private areas of our lives—including our consciences. Defending the Free Market is a powerful vindication of capitalism and a timely warning for a generation flirting with disaster.


The Conservative Case for Class Actions

The Conservative Case for Class Actions

Author: Brian T. Fitzpatrick

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2019-11-01

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 022665933X

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Since the 1960s, the class action lawsuit has been a powerful tool for holding businesses accountable. Yet years of attacks by corporate America and unfavorable rulings by the Supreme Court have left its future uncertain. In this book, Brian T. Fitzpatrick makes the case for the importance of class action litigation from a surprising political perspective: an unabashedly conservative point of view. Conservatives have opposed class actions in recent years, but Fitzpatrick argues that they should see such litigation not as a danger to the economy, but as a form of private enforcement of the law. He starts from the premise that all of us, conservatives and libertarians included, believe that markets need at least some rules to thrive, from laws that enforce contracts to laws that prevent companies from committing fraud. He also reminds us that conservatives consider the private sector to be superior to the government in most areas. And the relatively little-discussed intersection of those two beliefs is where the benefits of class action lawsuits become clear: when corporations commit misdeeds, class action lawsuits enlist the private sector to intervene, resulting in a smaller role for the government, lower taxes, and, ultimately, more effective solutions. Offering a novel argument that will surprise partisans on all sides, The Conservative Case for Class Actions is sure to breathe new life into this long-running debate.


In Defense of Globalism

In Defense of Globalism

Author: Dalibor Rohac

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2019-09-09

Total Pages: 171

ISBN-13: 153812081X

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Countering our divisive times, this innovative book makes the conservative case in favor of international organizations and cooperation. Dalibor Rohac persuasively argues that far from undermining national sovereignty, the mechanisms of international cooperation have been instrumental to humankind’s freedom, prosperity, and peace. Moreover, he shows that unlike the caricature of international cooperation as a top-down imposition, in reality it is characterized by extreme institutional diversity. Its structures have typically emerged from the bottom up, in response to concrete challenges transcending national borders. Moving beyond empty political rhetoric, Rohac's meticulous research and clear analysis assess and explains the strengths, flaws, and relevant trade-offs of different forms of global governance. A powerful rebuttal to the temptations of nationalist populism, his work is a call to arms for thoughtful people on the center right to defend the central tenets of the post-WWII international order.


Conservatives Against Capitalism

Conservatives Against Capitalism

Author: Peter Kolozi

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2017-08-08

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0231544618

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Few beliefs seem more fundamental to American conservatism than faith in the free market. Yet throughout American history, many of the major conservative intellectual and political figures have harbored deep misgivings about the unfettered market and its disruption of traditional values, hierarchies, and communities. In Conservatives Against Capitalism, Peter Kolozi traces the history of conservative skepticism about the influence of capitalism on politics, culture, and society. Kolozi discusses conservative critiques of capitalism—from its threat to the Southern way of life to its emasculating effects on American society to the dangers of free trade—considering the positions of a wide-ranging set of individuals, including John Calhoun, Theodore Roosevelt, Russell Kirk, Irving Kristol, and Patrick J. Buchanan. He examines the ways in which conservative thought went from outright opposition to capitalism to more muted critiques, ultimately reconciling itself to the workings and ethos of the market. By analyzing the unaddressed historical and present-day tensions between capitalism and conservative values, Kolozi shows that figures regarded as iconoclasts belong to a coherent tradition, and he creates a vital new understanding of the American conservative pantheon.


Free Trade Doesn't Work: What Should Replace It and Why, 2011 Edition

Free Trade Doesn't Work: What Should Replace It and Why, 2011 Edition

Author: Barrister and Professor of International Commercial Law Ian Fletcher

Publisher:

Published: 2011-03-01

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 9780578082615

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Are you wondering how Americans can compete with nations like China? Are you wondering how, if they can offshore call centers, computer programming, and accounting, there will be any good jobs left they can't offshore? Are you wondering how America can keep importing and running up debt without going bankrupt? Are you wondering how America can be a powerful nation without an industrial base? Are you wondering why the politicians keep denying all of these problems? Are you wondering whether the economics you learned in school and hear on TV is really valid? Are you wondering who you can trust? This very readable book is aimed at both ordinary concerned citizens and people with a bit of sophistication about economics. It is a systematic examination of why free trade is slowly bleeding America's economy to death and what can be done about it. It explains in detail why the standard economic arguments free traders use all the time are false, and what kind of economic ideas - well within the grasp of the average American - justify protectionism instead. It examines the history and politics of free trade and explains how America came to adopt its present disastrous free trade policy. It looks at the breakdown of specific industries and how we can rebuild them and bring millions of high-paying jobs back to this country. It examines what's wrong with NAFTA, CAFTA, the WTO, and the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership. It is sharply critical of the current establishment, but from a bipartisan point of view, so it should satisfy progressives, conservatives, and everyone in between. Unlike many past critiques of free trade, it is economically-literate; it also explains New Trade Theory, the hot new area of economics that critiques free trade.