For decades, U.S. policies such as free trade, limited taxation, and deregulated markets have been a model for developing countries. The adoption of those policies has helped more than one billion people escape extreme poverty since 1990. But with the U.S. threatening to move away from free markets, there could be harmful consequences for poor people throughout the world.
Today's Democratic presidential candidates are mostly united in wanting a bigger role for government and a smaller role for markets across the entire economy. And President Trump's outbursts suggest that whatever commitment he has to capitalism is equal to if not exceeded by his devotion to state-directed protectionism.
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