 Title page for Protection or Free Trade: An Examination of the Tariff Question, with especial Regard to the Interests of Labor (1886 edition) | |
| Author | Henry George |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subjects | Trade, free trade, protectionism, tariff, capitalism, socialism, Georgism, tax policy, land, economic rent |
Publication date | 1886 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 360 |
Protection or Free Trade is a book published in 1886 by the economist and social philosopher, Henry George. Its sub-title is An Examination of the Tariff Question with Especial Regard to the Interests of Labor. As the title suggests, George examined the debate between protectionism and free trade.[1]
George was opposed to tariffs, which were at the time both the major method of protectionist trade policy and an important source of federal revenue. He argued that tariffs kept prices high for consumers, while failing to produce any increase in overall wages. He also believed that tariffs protected monopolistic companies from competition, thus augmenting their power. Like Progress and Poverty, much of the book was devoted to attacking privileges, such as land monopoly, which limit trade and rob value from producers.
Largely as a result of this book, free trade became a major issue in federal politics. Protection or Free Trade was the first book to be read entirely into the Congressional Record.[2] It was read aloud by five Democratic congressmen.[3][4]
- ^ "Inadequacy of the Free Trade Argument", Chapter 16, Protection or Free Trade
- ^ George, Henry (2016). The annotated works of Henry George. Madison New Jersey Lanham, Maryland New York, NY: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., Robert Schalkenbach Foundation. ISBN 978-1611477016.
- ^ England, Land and Liberty, 79
- ^ Henry George, Protection or Free Trade: An Examination of the Tariff Question, with Especial Regard to the Interests of Labor(New York: 1887).