John Stuart Mill on the moral benefit of global trade (1848)
The economical advantages of commerce are surpassed in importance by those effects which are intellectual and moral. It is hardly possible to overrate the value, in the present low state of human improvement, of placing human beings in contact with persons dissimilar to themselves, and with modes of thought and action unlike those with which they are familiar….Commerce first taught nations to see with goodwill the wealth and prosperity of one another. Before, the patriot, unless sufficiently advanced to feel the world his country, wished all countries weak, poor, and ill-governed but his own: he now sees in their wealth and progress a direct source of wealth and progress in his own country.
Principles of Political Economy as quoted by William J Bernstein, “A Splendid Exchange“.
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This core of truth regarding international trade is lost on those in the 21st century. Their thoughts begin with self interest by way of the money they will earn, followed by a slight nod to improving the lives of those in developing nations, but they rarely touch on the more intangible benefits of contact with other cultures. Therein lies the true riches of trade.
Hi Mark,
Thanks for your comment. I think the magic of trade is the “invisible” nature of the hand. People act in self-interest yet through these actions create overall value. In theory, the overall value can be, as you say, “lost on those in the 21st century” yet the benefits of trade continue to flow.