Markets, Free Trade, and Religion

Abstract

Economists in the United States are strongly divided between those who advocate free markets and those who defend politically inspired regulations and policies. Almost all economists, whatever their political views, however, have traditionally agreed that the extension of free market principles internationally is desirable, that is, global free trade. To understand why there is there much greater agreement among economists about free trade in the international arena, we have to explore the religious, social, and cultural assumptions that lead them to believe that whether or not free trade serves the interests of any one country at a particular time, it leads -- sometimes ruthlessly -- the betterment of humanity worldwide.