Protectionism

I get bothered when I hear people complain about how China is going to take over the world, or that our jobs are all going overseas to places where people will work for a few dollars per hour. I submit there are two possibilities for why the rich nations of the world are rich:

Either, the people of the rich nations have earned it, in which case I see no reason why there should be any sense of entitlement to future wealth, since that ought to be earned as well, or, the people of the rich nations have stolen it, in which case I see no justifiable reason to maintain the status quo (that being most people held in poverty while global elites live the good life).

And if it be a combination of the two, then both of my conclusions would apply in appropriate measure. Being born in America, that is to say winning the geographical or parental lottery, does not bestow an entitlement to wealth at the expense of others who rolled snake eyes (being born in Bangladesh, for example).

I don't take the phrase "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights" to apply only to those holding an American passport. I believe that for the most part the rich nations have earned their wealth and power, through the embrace of both economic and political freedoms.

I don't think there ought to be an orchestrated redistribution of global wealth. But, I do think that such a redistribution of wealth is inevitable as more and more people, previously locked away from the modern world, emerge into it. Such a redistribution would also have the effect of calming global envies.

And, whether the rich nations embrace such an opening of opportunities to others or not, I think the redistribution will take place. We are now determining how bloody and costly it will be when it finally happens. Things are out of equilibrium, which is a fragile and unnatural state.

I just don't see why we can't let a person from China or India compete with someone from the U.S. The work is worth what it is worth, may the best worker win.