A foolish consistency... (reposted)

4/4/25:

To understand this post, you'll probably have to click on the bold face link in the post below. It's another post, written about Milton Friedman, and his ideas concerning trade surpluses and trade deficits. This is what I was referring to when I mentioned "foolish consistency". It turns out that Milton Friedman's ideas were taken at face value, and we really decided to trade all our know how and human capital in exchange for a few cheap baubles. Now that is foolish.

4/10/16:

Who said that?  It is a quote of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

I was thinking of that in respect to what I just wrote about Milton Friedman, and how it would be wonderful for us if we could get the rest of the world to accept paper dollars for goods.

It is foolishly consistent to take Economic Theory to its logical conclusion to the extent he did, and then try to justify it on the basis of economics alone.  You could not make that scenario work in the real world, because not all people are fools.  If you give away your power and strength in exchange for a few baubles, then you are the fool.  This is what these free traders are doing.  They don't know the difference between wealth and money.  Wealth is know how.  Money is just a medium of exchange.  It can only have value if it is backed by true wealth, which is the collective know how of a people.  If a nation neglects its people in exchange for baubles from abroad, then that nation can not exist for long.

The conclusion follows, if you are courageous enough to face the truth.