Episode description

Economists have sung the praises of free trade for centuries. But nobody that matters believes any longer that free trade is good. The new religion has taken us into the unknown. Or perhaps not: the known unknown is a question. What happens when really stupid people run the world?

What's the difference between Trump's threats of military force and Putin's similar remarks pre-invasion?

Free trade laid the basis for post WW2 prosperity. On average we became a lot better off. But some people did not. Free trade's dirty secret is that it creates both winners and losers. Economists have been frightened to talk about the losers, partly through a disgraceful lack of interest but also because of a key belief. Give a bad or thick politician the slightest excuse to become full-on protectionist and they will grab it with both hands. They will adopt policies that look superficially plausible but harm almost everyone. Only the plutocracy wins.

Over in the UK, things are going from bad to worse. The stark conclusion from the bond market crash: the government has run out of money. Or, at the very least, easy money. The Starmer-Reeves administration risks failure.

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