The latest episode of Econception is out.

The latest episode of Econception, my podcast with the American Institute of Economic Research, is a solo episode about trade. I begin by going through the basic argument of my cover story for National Review, which is that free trade is the realistic position and protectionism is the idealistic one. Protectionism is a utopian theory based on the assumptions that individuals and businesses will act contrary to their self-interest, government will act in the national interest, and special interests will stay on the sidelines. Free trade is how you live your everyday life.

Then, I talk about the history and strategy of free trade for the U.S., inspired by two recent articles by Dan McLaughlin. The first is about what Dan calls “Zombie McKinleyism,” or Trump’s strange habit of treating today’s economy like that of the 1890s and basically learning the opposite lessons that he should from the experience of that period of time. The second is about free trade as grand strategy, and why it has been good for the U.S. national interest.

The Paper of the Episode is “The Rise and Fall of Import Substitution” by Douglas Irwin. It shows how, contrary to the populist narrative, free trade is not something that economists mindlessly adhere to, but rather has become a consensus view after having tried protectionism for developing countries and observing its failure.

Please listen and subscribe to Econception by clicking here.