Competition In The 1900's Analysis

In the year 1775, the american colonies rebelled from Great Britain. In 1839, tensions boiled over between China and Great Britain leading to two wars over a twenty year period and again, in the 1900’s tensions constantly flared between soviet states and the rest of the world. Every one of these “wars”, amongst others, have a common leading cause, and it’s actually not the imperialistic tendencies of England. Rather it has to do with the economic policies used by the countries involved. In 1775 it was in large parts due to tariffs, in 1839 it was trade embargos, and in the 1900’s it was a conflict of ideals between that of communism and that of capitalism. To summarise, it was because of free trade, or in most cases the suppression of free

The primary way of developing a society as well as the quality of the goods it provides is through competition between both producers, and between consumers. Competition naturally develops because “each of us wants more that he has and the only way to get more is by competing against each other for control over limited resources” ( Lee, Dwight R. "Liberty and Individual Responsibility.”). In very much the same way as David Ricardo asserts that every country wishes to provide for its citizens, Lee believes every individual focuses solely on their own well being. Though harder to grasp for many people, this too is inevitably undeniable. Even the most benevolent person acts as in their own self-interest. Despite the connotations, this is not a negative concept, because the “immediate self-interest of the consumer follows a line parallel to that of the public interest” (Bastiat, Frederic. Economic Sophisms. 1845. Print.). When every citizen acts for themselves, society can develop further. Producers striving to make a profit feeds the demands of the consumers, who then support these producers in turn. These actions and reactions create a cycle of exchange, constantly striving to improve

Whether or not unrestricted trade is worth going to war over cannot be said. It can be said and seen, however, how important free trade is. Only by providing information of the market to the public and by allowing trade to happen naturally, can an economy truly flourish. Through the use of “laissez-faire”, as popularised by economists such as Adam Smith, often considered the founding father of free trade and capitalism in the modern world. It is on this basis that the foundations of economic theory are based