Against the Tide [Hardcover]

Douglas A. Irwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 29, 1996

About two hundred years ago, largely as a result of Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations", free trade achieved an intellectual status unrivaled by any other doctrine in the field of economics. What accounts for the success of free trade against then prevailing mercantilist doctrines? And how well has free trade withstood various theoretical attacks that have challenged it since Adam Smith's time? In this readable intellectual history, Douglas Irwin explains how the idea of free trade has endured against the tide of the abundant criticisms that have been leveled against it from the ancient world and Adam Smith's day through the present. An accessible, nontechnical look at one of the most important concepts in the field of economics, "Against the Tide" will allow the reader to put the ever new guises of protectionist thinking into the context of the past and discover why the idea of free trade has so successfully prevailed over time. Irwin traces the origins of the free trade doctrine from premercantilist times up to Adam Smith and the classical economists. In lucid and careful terms he shows how Smith's compelling arguments in favour of free trade overthrew merchantilist views that domestic industries should be protected from import competition. Once a presumption about the economic benefits of free trade was established, various objections to free trade arose in the form of major arguments for protectionism, such as those relating to the terms of trade, infant industries, increasing returns, wage distortions, income distribution, unemployment, and strategic trade policy. Discussing the contentious historical controversies surrounding each of these arguments, Irwin reveals the serious analytical and practical weaknesses of each, and in the process shows why free trade remains among the most durable and robust propositions that economics has to offer for the conduct of economic policy.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The topic of "free trade" is more dense and complex than is usually presented in political debate or in the slogans or bumper stickers that these days often suffice for political discourse. Douglas A. Irwin, a professor of business at the University of Chicago, helps add depth to the discussion with this sweeping study of the business of trade between nations. He begins with Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations and carries through to some of history's greatest thinkers on the topic of free trade. He shows "how free trade came to occupy ... a commanding position in economics and how free trade has maintained its intellectual strength ... over the past two centuries." It is a timely and needed book.

From Publishers Weekly

Few economic debates have raised more emotion over the last two centuries than that between the champions of free trade and the advocates of protectionism. Irwin chronicles this controversy in great detail from the demise of mercantilism in the 17th century and the beginnings of free-trade ideology with Adam Smith to the present. As Free Trade was an essentially British invention, most of the book's cast of characters are of that nationality, Irwin also traces the thinking of John Maynard Keynes, who, after being an ardent advocate of free trade, went through a reversal to become a supporter of protectionism. "Free trade, combined with great mobility of wage rates, is a tenable intellectual position," he wrote, but "it presents a problem of justice so long as many types of money [wages] income are protected by contract and cannot be made mobile." The debate is still very much alive today?from EEC to NAFTA, to the campaign rhetoric in this year's presidential primaries. Although Irwin takes an historical approach, he clearly a supporter of free trade. Irwin is a professor of Business Economics at the and is affiliated with the American Enterprise Institute, both of which are bastions of supply-side theory, which is free trade in its purest form. The book will be most readable for those with more than a passing knowledge of economics.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 274 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; First Edition edition (April 29, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691011389
• ISBN-13: 978-0691011387
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,751,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I chose this book as a required reading for my seminar., September 11, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Against the Tide (Paperback)

I like this book because it is very interesting and informative. I began reading it for pleasure, but by the time I was half way finished, I was sure of its serious nature and had decided to adopt it as a required reading in the seminar that I teach on the economic impact of globalization. The author succeeds in presenting the right mix of theory and history with sufficient analysis. It is well researched and very well organized. It should prove as interesting to the general reader as it is informative for the academics. However, its treatment of classical economists is far superior to the section dealing with contemporary writeres on free trade. Hopefully, in the second edition the author will remedy this shortcomeing.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book - shoddy reviewers, January 16, 2003

By 

Dalton K Finney (Bloomington, IN - Indiana University) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Against the Tide (Paperback)

Fantastic analysis of international free trade and the coming of age of economic globalization. Irwin is a diamond in the rough when it comes to economic author. He writes in such a way that is fairly easy to understand, all the while not comprimising the quality of the material. Granted, any previous knowledge of Economics is obviously beneficial to the reader, but in no way an absolute must.

Second, Mr. Preston Enright above seems to oppose corporate subsidies and welfare. Well, Mr Enright, so do the most staunch defenders of free-trade and capitalism: libertarians. I would not so much call myself a Libertarian but, like yourself, am also ardently opposed to corporate welfare, as it places an unwarranted burden on taxpayers and forces them to involuntarily support a cause, whereas they should only support the firm with their purchases from that corporation. Corporate welfare is, indeed, a rotten policy enacted but liberals and conservatives alike that, just as other forms of subsidies and welfare, create an unhealthy and unwarranted dependency on Washington (or wherever the largesse may originate), artificially lower prices, discourages innovation and efficiency, and ultimately harms the taxpayer and the consumer. Preston Enright is correct that this type of 'free trade' (not free to the mass of those who should benefit: the consumer) is only beneficial to the management and executives. Although, I'm guessing by his scattered and fiery writing style that he would be opposed to the free market, welfare or no welfare.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An informed discussion of free trade, June 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Against the Tide (Paperback)

Economics is one of those subjects on which everyone has an opinion but few have much knowledge. Free trade, in particular, suffers from this opinion/knowledge gap. Reviewer Enright provides a good demonstration of this affliction. Had he taken the time to read the entire book, rather than just skimming the last few pages looking for some commentary on the politicization of free trade, Enright might have learned something about the benefits of free trade.

Irwin's text provides an excellent overview of how economic thinking has over the years come to accept and promote free trade. Unfortunately, today's free trade debate is typically not framed by such informed discussion, but rather is shaped by the protectionist rantings of critics like Enright.