Economic nationalism or mercantilism is the realist approach to international political economy. This theory considers the state to be the most significant actor in the international system, views international economic relations between states as competitive in nature and claims there is a direct relationship between the pursuit of political power and economic wealth. It is the relative economic power of the state, in comparison with other states, that is most important. This perspective criticizes liberal ideas of free trade, claiming that they were not applicable to the reality of a world of nation states. Rather than being in the interest of all individuals, in reality a free trade system would favour the most advanced manufacturing states. Economic nationalists regard trade protection as a tool of state creation and statecraft. Many representatives of less developed countries believe that trade with industrialized countries is a form of imperialism; they fear that free trade benefits only the developed economy and leads to dependence of the less developed countries on the developed ones. Protectionism refers to government actions and policies that restrict or restrain international trade, often done with the intent of protecting local businesses and jobs from foreign competition. Typical methods of protectionism are import tariffs, quotas, subsidies or tax cuts to local businesses and direct state intervention. Friedrich List (1841) argued that every industrial nation