By Ken Schoolland
Jonathan accompanied the despairing woman and her boy a couple of miles down the road to the home of her relatives. They thanked him warmly and invited him to stay. One look told him that the house could barely contain the whole family, so he excused himself and continued on his way. The road took him to a river where he found a bridge to a walled town on the other side. The narrow bridge held an imposing divider. On one side of the bridge, a sign pointed to the town reading, “ENTER STULTA CITY, ISLE OF CORRUMPO.” On the other side of the divider, another sign simply read, “EXIT ONLY, DO NOT ENTER.”
That was not the oddest feature of the bridge. To cross into town, one had to climb over jagged obstacles. Piles of sharp rocks and massive boulders blocked the entire entry side of the bridge. Several travellers had dropped their parcels by the way or into the river rather than haul them over the craggy barrier. Others, especially the elderly, simply turned back. Behind one feeble traveller, Jonathan spied the familiar yellow-striped cat with a ragged right ear, sniffing and pawing at a bundle that had been discarded. As he watched, the cat extracted a piece of dried meat from the torn bundle. In contrast, the exit side of the bridge was smooth and clear.
Merchants carrying goods out of town departed with ease. Jonathan wondered, “Why do they make it so tough to get into this place while it is so easy to get out?”
Jonathan clambered over the entrance side of the bridge, slipping on the uneven footing and hauling himself up on the boulders. He finally arrived at a pair of thick wooden gates that were thrown wide open to allow him to pass through the great town wall. People riding horses, people carrying boxes and bundles and people driving all manner of wagons and carts traversed the roads inside. Jonathan straightened his shoulders, dusted off his tattered shirt and pants and marched through the gateway. The cat slipped in behind him.
Just inside, a woman, holding a rolled parchment, sat behind a table that was covered with bright little medallions. ”Please,” asked the woman, giving a wide smile and reaching out to pin one of the medallions onto Jonathan’s shirt pocket, “won’t you sign my petition?”
“Well, I don’t know,” stammered Jonathan. “But I wonder if you could direct me toward the centre of town?”
The woman eyed him suspiciously. “You don’t know the town?” Jonathan hesitated, noting the chilly tone that had crept into her voice. Quickly, he said, “And where do I sign your petition?” The woman smiled again. “Sign just below the last name, right here. You’re helping so many people with this.”
Jonathan shrugged his shoulders and took up her pen. He felt sorry for her, sitting all bundled in heavy clothing, sweating profusely on such a pleasant, sunny day. “What’s this petition for?” asked Jonathan.
She clasped her hands in front of her as if preparing to sing a solo. “This is a petition to protect jobs and industry. You are in favour of jobs and industry, are you not?” she pleaded. ”Of course I am,” said Jonathan, remembering the enterprising young woman who was arrested for threatening the jobs of tree workers. The last thing he wanted was to sound uninterested in people’s work.
“How will this help?” asked Jonathan as he scribbled his name badly enough so that no one could possibly read it. ”The Council of Lords protects our local industries from products that come from outside of town. As you can see, we’ve made progress with our bridge, but there’s so much more to be done. If enough people sign my petition, the Lords have promised to ban foreign items that hurt my industry.”
“What is your industry?” asked Jonathan. The woman declared proudly, “I represent the makers of candles
and coats. This petition calls for a ban on the sun.” ”The sun?” gasped Jonathan. “How, ..uh,.. why ban the sun?”
She eyed Jonathan defensively. “I know it sounds a bit drastic, but don’t you see – the sun hurts candle makers and coat makers. People don’t buy candles and coats when they’re warm and have light. Surely you realise that the sun is a very cheap source of foreign light and heat. Well, this just cannot be tolerated!” ”But light and heat from the sun are free,” protested Jonathan. The woman looked hurt and whined, “That’s the problem, don’t you see?” Taking out a little pad and pencil, she tried to draw a few notations for him. “According to my calculations, the low-cost availability of these foreign elements reduces potential employment and wages by at least fifty percent – that is, in the industries which I represent. A heavy tax on windows, or maybe an outright ban, should improve this situation nicely.” Jonathan put down her petition. “But if people pay for light and heat, then they will have less money to spend on other things - things like meat, or drink, or bread.”
“I don’t represent the butchers, or the brewers, or the bakers.” the woman said brusquely. Sensing a change in Jonathan’s attitude she snatched away the petition. “Obviously you are more interested in some selfish consumer whim than in protecting the security of jobs and sound business investment. Good day to you,” she said, ending the conversation abruptly. Jonathan backed away from the table. “Ban the sun?” he thought.
“What crazy ideas! First axes and food, then the sun. What will they think of next?”
Brainstorming
Is it good for people to get free light and heat from the sun?
Who objects?
Are the objections to imports similar?
What groups object to people buying cheap
products from other countries?
Why?
Do consumers suffer when imports are
banned?
How do groups stop imports of low-cost
goods?
Examples?
What ethical issues are there?
Commentary
The title of this chapter is in reference to one of Frederic Bastiat’s famous essays on candle makers. The candle makers wanted to ban the light and heat from the sun, and so create an artificial need in order to “protect” their country’s industry. Imports: Governments’ import restrictions are not aimed at foreigners. These restrictions penalise consumers by forcing them to buy higher-priced or lower-quality products than they would prefer. By raising prices, trade barriers also deprive us of the savings that we could use to buy other products that would be generated by employment in new industries.
Thus, if one has five coins and can pay one coin for the imported product, then one has four coins to buy other things. But if the import is not allowed, then one may have to pay five coins for the domestic product and there will be nothing left to buy other goods.
The excuse offered for import restrictions is that governments are “patriotically” protecting domestic jobs and companies. However, as long as these jobs are protected, they will never outgrow their need for protection. What makes companies competitive is competition. If they can’t compete, it would be better if they shifted capital and labour into product lines where they have an advantage over other markets. Trade barriers in retaliation against another country only injure the innocent. The home country gains nothing by in?icting “reciprocal” injury on their own citizens.
Exports: Why are a nation’s exports uncompetitive? This is frequently because of high taxes and burdensome regulations in the exporting country, not because of strong competition from abroad. Protecting local industry slows competitive innovations. It also leads to dependency on politicians who hand out the protection.
Protecting “job and industry” by banning ”unfair competition” is very similar to the argument that the tree-workers made against “unfair competition” from labour-saving inventions. When laws are passed to protect the candle makers, coat makers, and tree workers from competition, then consumers have to pay more than what they otherwise would. This hurts even those who gain from the protection. In the long-run we all have more to gain from free trade than from a policy of protectionism.
Background
There was a time, in the history of Europe, when there was a tax on windows. To avoid this tax people boarded up their windows or walled them up completely. Quote from Bastiat’s famous Candle Makers’
Petition: “We candle makers are suffering from the unfair competition of a low-priced foreign rival. Our Customers desert us and related industries are also injured. ”This rival is the sun! Please pass a law requiring the covering of all windows, skylights, holes and cracks. Domestic manufacturers will be stimulated. Agriculture will thrive on the need for tallow. Whale oil demand will improve shipping and thus defence. Jobs will be created and everyone will benefit. We have always served our country well and gratitude demands that we be protected.” Frederic Bastiat, 1846.
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Commentary by Janette Elridge
You may purchase the print edition of this book from The Liberty Institute, New Delhi.