Cafe Hayek - Latest Comments in Stationary Bandits, Plunder, and Trade Negotiations

Re: Stationary Bandits, Plunder, and Trade Negotiations

Tim Worstall — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 00:17:07 -0000

Bravo! Bravo!

Massed clapping, cries of "Encore Maestro"!

It is simply so darn difficult to get over the idea to people that it is imports that make us rich so why on earth are we taxing them?

Re: Stationary Bandits, Plunder, and Trade Negotiations

Hucbald — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 14:50:30 -0000

Perhaps if we didn't allow lawyers to make the laws, there would be a little less plundering.

Re: Stationary Bandits, Plunder, and Trade Negotiations

Brian Patrick Moore — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 12:21:15 -0000

/agree

And thank you Mike, for some relatively optmistic news.

Re: Stationary Bandits, Plunder, and Trade Negotiations

Swimmy — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 12:17:53 -0000

I read a phrase in a review not too long ago that stuck with me: "even the most cynical public choice economist. . ."

I thought it was redundant.

I've developed a tendency to immediately turn my ears off when I hear the phrase "public interest."

Re: Stationary Bandits, Plunder, and Trade Negotiations

mlinksva — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 10:46:13 -0000

I strongly agree with your sentiments above, but governments occasionally do liberalize on their own, and according to the World Bank autonomous liberalization accounted for 66% of tariff liberalization from 1983-2003, see http://gondwanaland.com/mlo...

While I wish well for multilateral negotiations I loathe the logic of such for exactly the reasons you state.

Despite the logic of stationary bandits it seems unilateral free trade is in fact more important than pacts and is infinitely more savory.