Sun Zi: Adam, you speak of free markets and prosperity through trade. Yet nations wage economic wars, imposing tariffs and restrictions. If trade is truly beneficial, why do rulers seek to hinder it? Adam Smith: Ah, my friend, it is often due to misplaced fears and short-term interests. Leaders believe protecting domestic industries will strengthen their economy, but they fail to see that such policies weaken all in the long run. Free trade allows nations to specialize and prosper together. Sun Zi: You say they fail to see, yet they act with deliberate intent. Is this not a strategy of control rather than ignorance? A ruler does not block a road unless he fears what may come through it. Adam Smith: Quite so. Some fear dependence on foreign powers, seeing trade as a weapon that might be turned against them. They view commerce not as mutual gain but as a battlefield. Yet war, even economic war, exhausts both sides. If a nation blocks trade, it injures itself as well. Sun Zi: Y...
Fellowship in Thinking and Wondering