Free trade is not based on utility but on justice.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Free trade is justified by moral justice rather than just practical benefit.
- In plain terms
- Trade should be free because it is right, not just because it is useful.
- What can you take from it?
- Free trade is a moral duty, not just an economic tool.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is trade about profit or principle?
- What justice means in economics?
Another view
Practical utility often drives trade policy more than abstract justice.
More from Edmund Burke
By gnawing through a dike, even a rat may drown a nation.
Permalink to quote #156 If we have equity, wisdom, and justice, it will belong to this country; if we have it not, it will not belong to this country.
Permalink to quote #158 Well is it known that ambition can creep as well as soar.
Permalink to quote #155
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