Against the Tide1996
An Intellectual History of Free Trade
by Douglas A. Irwin
About two hundred years ago, largely as a result of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, free trade achieved an intellectual status unrivaled by any other doctrine in the field of economics. What accounts for the success of free trade against then prevailing mecantilist doctrines? And how well has free trade withstood various theoretical attacks that have challenged it since Adam Smith's time?
In this readable intellectual history, Douglas Irwin explains how the idea of free trade has endured against the tide of the abundant criticisms that have been leveled against it from the ancient world and Adam Smith's day through the present. An accessible, nontechnical look at one of the most important concepts in the field of economics.
Against the Tide will allow the reader to put the ever new...