China + Free Trade = Not So Much

Source: wapo

Among other things the whole notion of "Free Trade" is based on one tendentious notion that never, ever seems to pan out in real life. That all people are the same and want the same things, or, that everybody is just like us. As Parapundit asks: Remember when we were told that World Trade Organization (WTO) membership for China would open up a huge market for our products and would be boon for our companies?

Read on Grasshopper and remember, high IQ's and educational attainment aside, our elites are just as prone as anyone else to believe in absolute rubbish, the key word being...believe!

Since the mid-1990s, China has aggressively courted foreign investment, crediting capital from abroad with helping it become a world economic power. In recent months, however, the Chinese government, saying it needs to protect homegrown companies from unfair competition, has thrown a multitude of new regulations at foreign firms seeking to do business in China.

While some believe the new restrictions -- which affect several sectors, including real estate, retailing, shipbuilding, banking and insurance -- may be only temporary measures to control growth, others worry that there's a larger political issue: that economic nationalism or even protectionism is rising.

Now, the same asshats who've been cheerleading the "Free Trade" revolution find their crank caught in the closing door...

Last month, eBay said it would close its Web site in China, saying it was facing difficulties because Chinese regulations limit the types of financial transactions foreign companies can conduct. In November, Warner Bros. International Cinemas, part of Time Warner, which had been planning a massive expansion in China, abruptly announced plans to close operations in the country. It cited a recent policy change that no longer allowed foreign companies to control domestic theaters except in a handful of large cities.

Oops!

It appears to me that the whole notion of "Free Trade" is both a religion and a chimera. No matter how many times people lose everything to totalitarian systems they seem ready and willing to gamble it all again on the idea that a dictator will put the economic good of his people before his own, not gonna happen, ever.

It is my belief that free trade can only happen between economies of similar scale. We can have free trade with Canada as we have similar economies, but any free trade relationship with dictatorial and third world countries appears to be destined for ruin. See: Venezuela.

To believe in free trade requires one to also believe that culture doesn't matter. That the reason these countries are backwards and poor is simply one of supply issues, rather than deep seated cultural issues that no amount of money will ameliorate.

How delusional do you have to be exactly to see China as anything other than an enemy. Seeing as they've always asserted that basic principle, and as we always say around here: Why not believe them?

Now, am I suggesting that we not trade with other countries? Nope. What I am saying is that when a country like China slams the door on free trade as we're seeing here they should pay a price. And it should be a stiff price. It appears to me that we accept anything short of outright piracy as de facto free trade from our trading partners, which is what upsets me about most "free trade" arrangements. They're not, and they don't appear to be heading in that direction any time soon either.

Trade? Sure. Bent over and treated like their bitch?

Why?

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