Globalisation, a term that when used in economics refers to the integration of national economies into a global marketplace, is perceived to be part of the reason for economic weakness in some countries. This is a perception that the politically-astute feed upon, often by invoking the “we” fallacy.
According to the “we” fallacy, anyone who happens to be located inside an arbitrary border is one of “us” and deserves preferential treatment at the expense of anyone who happens to be located outside the border. The “we” fallacy underpins the concerns that are routinely expressed about trade deficits, the thinking being that “we” are being hurt because “they” sell more stuff to us than we sell to them*.
To expose the flawed logic that initially leads to teeth-gnashing over trade deficits and subsequently leads to protectionist trade policies, I’ll use a hypothetical example involving two pig farmers (Bill and Bob) and a butcher (Arthur). Bill, Bob and Arthur live and work in a small US town located 1 mile south of the US-Canada border. Bill is a more efficient pig farmer than Bob and is thus able to sell his pigs at a 10% lower price. Consequently, Arthur buys twenty pigs per year from Bill and none from Bob. This arrangement continues for several years, at which point Bill decides to move his farm 2 miles to the north (to the other side of the US-Canada border).
Business-wise, nothing changes and Arthur continues to buy 20 pigs per year from Bill. However, due to the minor change in the physical location of Bill’s farm the business that Bill and Arthur have been conducting for many years now adds to the US trade deficit. In other words, a business relationship that nobody was previously concerned about suddenly becomes a problem for the collective “we”, even though nothing has really changed. Bob, sensing an opportunity, complains to the US government that he will have to fire his farmhand unless something is done to prevent his business from being undercut by cheap imports. In response, the US government slaps a 15% tariff on Canadian pigs, prompting Arthur to start using Bob as his pig supplier.
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