Why do I find myself, at least once a week and frequently more often, being compelled to explain comparative advantage to people who should know better?
Here’s the quick summary. Imagine Country A and Country B. Even if Country A produces everything at lower cost than Country B (absolute advantage) both countries benefit by trade as long as the relative costs of production are different between the two countries (comparative advantage).
That’s the gist. If you want more detail look it up. This stuff has been well known for 200 years, since David Ricardo explained it back in 1817.
I think there are reasonable arguments about how trade should be managed between the U. S. and, for example, China. I particularly think that we have been foolish in allowing the Chinese to trade with us on their terms, buying Treasuries with the dollars they obtain by trade wiht us rather than buying U. S. goods and services. But claiming that we’ll stop producing everything because the Chinese can produce it more cheaply is just poorly informed.
Why do I find myself, at least once a week and frequently more often, being compelled to explain comparative advantage to people who should know better?
Because you are Sisyphus, my friend, and people like me are your boulder.