President Trump once stated: “‘tariffs’ is the most beautiful word in the English language.” I was a fervent supporter of the recent candidacy of my fellow New Yorker (he hails from Queens, I’m from next door Brooklyn), but I beg to differ with him on this issue. It is not even close. There are many candidates which beat out tariffs in the beautiful word sweepstakes: love, beauty, justice, truth, charity, civilization, prosperity; anyone can add to this list.
I would also add specialization and the division of labor, for that is one of the very well-springs of economic life itself. If we all tried to be jacks of all trades and masters of none, and we take this to its ultimate tariff conclusion, virtually all of us would starve to death. What does this have to do with interferences with international trade? That is the direction in which this philosophy leads us.
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