'One Free-Trade Ring To Rule Them All . . . .'

January 5, 2002 | adapted by Ironword

[Ironword]

A modern application of an old tale.

[Ironword]

A modern application of an old, old tale.

[Hugh Akston]

"No nation was ever ruined by trade." --Essays. Thoughts on Commercial Subjects, Ben Franklin

[mercy]

Catchy, but we know the ending already.

[Ironword]

"No nation was ever ruined by trade."

Even slave trade?

[Ironword]

Catchy, but we know the ending already.

We do, don't we!!

[Hugh Akston]

Main Entry: non se·qui·tur
Pronunciation: 'nän-'se-kw&-t&r also -"tur
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin, it does not follow
Date: 1540
1 : an inference that does not follow from the premises; specifically : a fallacy resulting from a simple conversion of a universal affirmative proposition or from the transposition of a condition and its consequent
2 : a statement (as a response) that does not follow logically from anything previously said

[Arator]

Outstanding, Ironwood.

One day, the promised one will come and hurl this ring too into the fiery abyss where it can be destroyed once and far all.

I believe this event is described in Revelations 18.

There the free-trade ring is called "Babylon the Great".

[Ironword]

How is slave trade, or, more perfectly, trade in slave-labor products, a non sequitur?

[Ironword]

There the free-trade ring is called "Babylon the Great".

The kings and merchants made wealthy by her ultimately lament when they see "the smoke of her burning."

We do know the end of this story.

It is remarkable that in The Lord of the Rings, in the books and preserved in part the first of the film, two characters, Gandalf and Galadriel, reference another but unknown force working for good. Though this "force" is never ultimately defined or revealed, it clearly is a subtle inference by Tolkein that a Providence is sovereign over all of the mythical Middle Earth.

[Ironword]

Ping

[Austin Willard Wright]

Very silly. The one ring refers to corrupting centralized power which would, of course, include tariffs, import quotas, trade wars. Free trade=freedom which is the antithesis of power.

[Austin Willard Wright]

The "slave trade" was also the antithesis of free trade. Free trade cannot exist without free choice. It is worthy to note that the first free trade entitity on the planet, the British Empire, was also the first to abolish both slavery and the slave trade.

[Arator]

Free trade=freedom which is the antithesis of power.

You probably think Free love=freedom too.

But, on the contrary, unrestrained sexual intercourse with diseased fleshpots can be highly detrimental to one's overall sense of well being.

Likewise, unrestrained economic intercourse with socially diseased tyrannies, third-world dictatorships, quasi-feudal oligarchies, and communist slave states can be highly detrimental to a nation's economic, moral, and civilizational well being.

[madfly]

non se·qui·tur

Oh no, not the "nonsequitur" police again. I was attacked for using one of those in the closing paragraph of a long article I posted from SieraTimes.

There were no comments on the topic or the points made, just quick posting of my "logic" violation.

Me thinks you don't bother much with word meanings and perhaps can't read

between

the

lines

I would have written this as a poem, but didn't want to miss any beats in iambic pentameter. :)

[Austin Willard Wright]

Just because people make bad free choices, doesn't make freedom a bad thing. What are you suggesting? That we pass a law against bad choices such as "free love?" If so, the logic of this would truly lead to "one ring" of corrupting and absolute political power.

[CIBvet]

Outstanding comparison!!

[IronJack]

Since China is guilty of many of the same abuses as the Third Reich, I think it is fitting to substitute "Hitler's Germany" into the "pro-trade" arguments and see how they read.

"We should open the doors to trade with Hitler's Germany, since commerce will soothe their raging spirits and tame their renegade impulses."

"Certainly Hitler's Germany is guilty of human rights abuses, but we'll just make them worse by shunning them."

"Maybe the people in Hitler's Germany are suffering, but how much worse would they be suffering if we didn't trade with them at all?"

Next time you buy a pillow from China, check the content of the filler. If it's human hair, the parallel should be obvious.

[Ironword]

It is worthy to note that the first free trade entitity on the planet, the British Empire, was also the first to abolish both slavery and the slave trade.

Yes indeed, friend, but the last time I looked, the laogai network in the PRC has grown exponentially to more than 1,200 camps and facilities during our 20-plus year, delinked "free trade" MFN / PNTR policy.

[Austin Willard Wright]

Why? What does the right to free trade between millions of free individuals exercising millions of individual choices have to do with vesting absolute political power in one man? The answer, of course, is nothing.