all the talk about trade / trade wars is fundamentally nonsense and wrong-headed, but that's not what this post is about. this post is about the value of trade. in that we won't get wrapped up in the baggage laden terms of free trade, markets, tariffs and all that loaded language. the basic point is this, made by thinkers of the classic era and restated by Nassim Taleb, that in order to have peace in the world there should be trade. people fundamentally want to produce something of value and exchange it. markets are social enterprises; exchange of goods, languages, products, ideas, culture; this is the healthy and nutritive development of humanity.
when we rely on bureaucrats, wars, trade "agreements" (more like disagreements), and mega corporations to format our world, we dehumanize it in nearly everyway possible. only through productive exchanges, clean labor, entrepreneurship, clear and transparent laws and forums for the masses can we reengage in healthy societies. the foundation of civilization is markets, artisanship, science, and education. only through relationship and healthy exchanges can we re-engage to make the modern human experiment work.
