“The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer”

Uh, no.

For those who haven’t taken the time to watch these videos, or missed this television series, I give you the most important graph that few people care about as shorthand for your enlightenment. Especially those who claim they are concerned about the poor while doing everything in their power to undermine the growth of trade and markets (and supporting the governments doing the same) which is making this possible. I also might call this “In Defense of Globalization.” From The Economist:

Hundreds of millions of people have seen a massive improvement in their lives. This, of course, doesn’t come close to telling the entire story of the dramatic improvement of living standards around the world, but it is the most morally compelling, or it should be. For those who argue this process is not good for us, I disagree, but that is the wrong way to look at it anyway, especially given the supposed concern for the poor many such advocates express. Alex Tabarrok:

I would argue, however, that economists are too quick to take the nation as the relevant moral community. It is quite possible, for example, for Peter to benefit from trade but for Peter’s city to be harmed, for Peter’s state to benefit but for his region to be harmed, for his country to benefit but for his continent to be harmed. Why should we cut the cake in one way, excluding some from the moral community, but not in another? Indeed, geography is not the only way we can define the moral community. Why not ask whether English speakers benefit from free trade or Christians or left handed people? Each of these is just as valid as asking whether the collection of people called the nation benefit from free trade.

I understand individual rights and I understand counting everyone equally but I see less value in counting some in and some out based on arbitrary characteristics like which side of the border the actors fall on.

Of course I made a similar argument in regards to foreign policy, which Alex might have more of a problem with.

[tags] poverty, developing world, income, economics, developmental economics, free trade, markets [/tags]