The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protectionism

Russell Roberts, 3rd ed.

Answer each of the following with complete sentences in paragraph form. Complete answers require more than one sentence.

What does the author mean by each of the following? Do you agree? (Be sure to explain why you agree or disagree.) Each answer is worth 5 points unless otherwise noted—be sure to address each of these questions (meaning, agree/disagree/, why or why not) for each statement.

1. The assertion that children will have had different lives than their parents. (page 17)

2. Creativity is unleashed when certain jobs are lost. (pages 20-21)

3. "There is not enough people, machines, and land to go around to make everything as cheaply as could be made under free trade." (page 44-47)

4. "Buy American" campaigns cost American jobs. (page 43)

5. "In a world of free trade, American producers are forced to keep up with and surpass foreign ingenuity. In a world of restricted trade, producers spend their time trying to lobby the government for ever-wider restrictions." (pages 49-50)

6. “Trade flows should be unequal…The essence of trade is specialization.” (pages 71, 72)

7. Anti-dumping laws ignore basic economics. (pages 79, 85)

8. Doing what's best for your citizens means: "open your markets to products from all over the world." (page 80)

9. Low wages are "better than no wages." (page 85)

10. “But if I were alive in 2000, I think I’d still feel guilty if I were one of those Americans buying a car from the Japanese.” (page 108)

11. "Free trade leads to more opportunity, more wealth, and a more dynamic world. But a more dynamic world does not benefit everyone." (page 110)

12. What IS the "choice?" (Where does the author get the title of the book?) Discuss each side of the argument and relate to current views, both personal and societal. (10 points)

13. What primary myth of yours did the book debunk? Explain. (10 points)

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