heres a good introduction to the economics of international trade

without too many formulas and jargon

the united states is an interesting case study though, because you can look at each city and each state from a comparative advantage standpoint. The biggest thing hamstringing this effect is federalism since it limits states with Procrustean bureaucracy

@Jay1532 it may initially help a less developed nation catch up to more advanced nations, but it's effect on more developed nations is not trivial. The free market incentivizes innovation, which is the greatest driver in increase of real wealth and higher living standards, and more developed nations have a better ability and more resources to innovate. Wealthy, developed nations increase the wealth of all nations just by creating better and cheaper products and developing more efficient means of production. This is all done best through the free market.

@campodin also is an expedient way to create megalomaniac superstates like china is becoming

@Jay1532 China is a house of cards

Their economy is getting ever more precarious and unstable

Much of their growth is artificial and manufactured

It is going to catch up to them soon enough

yeah, but they have successful infiltration operations and stole so much american intellectual property that now they can successfully challenge the pax americana weve all (the world) enjoyed for so long

especially american military IP

@campodin Government Contracts (to private companies) drive the most innovation

Since it's instant motivation, unlike a regular market where it takes a multitude of time to innovate

Lol, no China is not challenging the pax Americana. Trump has showed just how weak they really are

China can't hold off against the U.S in a trade war

thats naive

China is already outsourcing itself @Jay1532

they are not weak

They are investing into new companies in Africa

only if xi loses power will they have been shown to be weak

they are planning on nuking the petro-dollar behind the scenes

Xi is basically neo-mao, have fun trying to convince it's popular to rebel

and if turkey and others are any indication, they are receiving an audience thats listening

China will never be a sole superpower, they will follow the path of the soviet union

@Doctor Anon government contracts doesn't drive the kind of innovation that leads to more prosperity though. Most of that innovation is expensive and not practical until the market gets to improve upon it

@campodin It does get to improve on it, most contracts are for military, which almost always translates into civilian tech

Oh, in regards to contracts for military tech I'm all in favor of it.

What's expensive and impractical on the market shouldn't be a consideration for defense

idk though, theres a compelling argument that free trade can also hinder research

since it creates a climate of long term uncertainty for certain products

Im 50/50 on free trade

I'd support national free trade, but not global free trade

look how ford and other american car companies bought outsourced vehicle parts in the 90s to compete on PRICE, not to innovate on quality

and theyve been playing a losing game ever since

A nation should always strive to be able to sustain itself with *0* imports

i dont know if id go that far. The best case scenario is import what we cant make well ourself, and export what we excel at

and make sure that important industries are protected

I didn't say no exports, i meant no imports

anyone that thinks we could wage war without domestic steel production is probably a commie infiltrator

as for the 0, i mean in terms of goods needed to sustain a country, for example during a war so supply lines cant be cut off

yeah