Introduction
The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protectionism tells a fictional story that informs readers about the economic system. Russel Roberts, the author, tells a story that illustrates protectionism and free trade. He makes the concepts and arguments easy to understand. Roberts has written several of books which illustrates economic concepts in interesting and unusual ways. The title of this book does adequately convey the message of the book. The author paints the picture of American economy under free trade and under protectionism clearly.
Roberts stated in the preface that he updated the third edition to discuss the growing economic strength of China and India. His worries about trade with Japan and Mexico turned out to be inaccurate. …show more content…
Dave's and Ed's discussion is entertaining. Roberts' doesn't hold back, because he wants readers to make their own informed decisions. The discussion of comparative advantage, which Roberts renames the "Roundabout Way to Wealth," is especially insightful. He explains that America still makes television sets in 1995. However, they aren't made in America. Instead, employees of Merck make them by manufacturing pharmaceutical products which are then traded for the televisions.
The theme of this book is protectionism. The author did do a great job with it, because he made it clear that he wanted America to be under free trade and protection. This book makes the complex concepts, issues and terminology of international trade understandable for students. As a student sometimes I cannot grasp the nature of how some economic tools are used or how they work in life. This novel helps to understand these concepts with applications by use of a fictional story.
One quote that stood out to me most was, "If foreign nations keep out American products, they are harming themselves.” I agree because, they are forcing their citizens to pay higher prices than necessary for the goods they consume. They are devoting unnecessary resources, people, raw materials, and capital to produce goods they could import at a lower …show more content…
However, after reading a at least a dozen books about free market economics, what I can say for sure is that economics if expressed in simple terms and in a way so that readers can related them to their day to day lives is not only an interesting subject to learn but also an addictive realm of knowledge. After reading Russell Robert's articles and books however, one can confidently say, economics when written about by Roberts is mesmerizing in the least. Something that could have made the book even better was a little more elaboration on the "dumping" argument. Overall, this novel is a must read if you really want to know how free trade benefits
The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protectionism tells a fictional story that informs readers about the economic system. Russel Roberts, the author, tells a story that illustrates protectionism and free trade. He makes the concepts and arguments easy to understand. Roberts has written several of books which illustrates economic concepts in interesting and unusual ways. The title of this book does adequately convey the message of the book. The author paints the picture of American economy under free trade and under protectionism clearly.
Roberts stated in the preface that he updated the third edition to discuss the growing economic strength of China and India. His worries about trade with Japan and Mexico turned out to be inaccurate. …show more content…
Dave's and Ed's discussion is entertaining. Roberts' doesn't hold back, because he wants readers to make their own informed decisions. The discussion of comparative advantage, which Roberts renames the "Roundabout Way to Wealth," is especially insightful. He explains that America still makes television sets in 1995. However, they aren't made in America. Instead, employees of Merck make them by manufacturing pharmaceutical products which are then traded for the televisions.
The theme of this book is protectionism. The author did do a great job with it, because he made it clear that he wanted America to be under free trade and protection. This book makes the complex concepts, issues and terminology of international trade understandable for students. As a student sometimes I cannot grasp the nature of how some economic tools are used or how they work in life. This novel helps to understand these concepts with applications by use of a fictional story.
One quote that stood out to me most was, "If foreign nations keep out American products, they are harming themselves.” I agree because, they are forcing their citizens to pay higher prices than necessary for the goods they consume. They are devoting unnecessary resources, people, raw materials, and capital to produce goods they could import at a lower …show more content…
However, after reading a at least a dozen books about free market economics, what I can say for sure is that economics if expressed in simple terms and in a way so that readers can related them to their day to day lives is not only an interesting subject to learn but also an addictive realm of knowledge. After reading Russell Robert's articles and books however, one can confidently say, economics when written about by Roberts is mesmerizing in the least. Something that could have made the book even better was a little more elaboration on the "dumping" argument. Overall, this novel is a must read if you really want to know how free trade benefits