Almost 250 years ago, a group of revolutionaries published a document declaring their independence from the world’s largest empire. The Declaration of Independence clearly articulated a set of principles that had been developing for centuries — namely, that people are born free and possess an inherent right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Seven years later, after a long and arduous war, they realized their dream, and the United States of America began its grand experiment: a nation governed by its citizens rather than a monarch or dictator, with liberty placed firmly at its center. Contemporary defenders of liberalism are the progeny of that generation. We are the revolutionaries carrying this dream forward.
Today, many on both the Right and the Left — national conservatives and so-called progressives alike — seek to undermine the American experiment. They claim it has failed the middle class, minorities, women, and other groups. They argue that their ideas — tariffs, class warfare, and greater state control over the economy — will make us safer, restore jobs, and reduce poverty. But these ideas are old, and when nations have relied on them in the past, they have faltered.
Take trade. Peter Navarro and others in and around the Trump administration believe America needs to pull back from international commerce. They advocate high tariffs on imports to restrict Americans’ access to foreign goods, raise revenue, and boost domestic manufacturing. This is not new thinking. It is very old thinking.
From 1815 to 1846, the United Kingdom had a series of policies, known as the Corn Laws, that in effect imposed a 28 percent tariff on imported grains. These laws benefited landowners at the expense of workers and consumers who paid 9 percent more for food, leaving less money for clothing, shelter, and everything else. These laws made the United Kingdom poorer, not richer.
In 1434, the Chinese Emperor Xuande issued the Edict of Haijin. It suspended official ocean-going voyages, effectively isolating China from much of the outside world. Privately owned ocean-going vessels were destroyed, and the empire’s naval fleet was allowed to decay. For much of the next 350 years, China remained largely inward-looking and self-sufficient — an outcome that might please many Republicans these days. Some purported justifications for China’s isolationist swing were to end piracy and to put pressure on Japan, which was a large importer of Chinese goods.
Unfortunately for China, the policy backfired. By the time it re-engaged with the West through contact with England in the late 1700s and early 1800s, it had fallen significantly behind in both technological and military development. England easily defeated China in the Opium Wars, kickstarting China’s “century of humiliation.”
Protectionism is an old idea with periods of widespread support across the globe. The newer idea, the innovative idea, is realizing that international trade brings benefits to all involved. Supporters of freer trade are the true radicals in the best sense of the word. They are the ones pushing a counterintuitive idea that makes people better off.
Class warfare is another old idea that is back in vogue. Progressives make their living denouncing billionaires and big business. Republicans used to largely avoid such rhetoric, but now folks on the Right are okay with higher taxes on corporations, “Big Tech,” and the wealthy.
The novel idea is not going after the rich just because they are successful. That has been done in countries all over the globe. The communists in Cuba do it, the socialists in Venezuela do it, and the European progressives do it, too. The revolutionary idea is allowing people to keep the fruits of their labor. Successful entrepreneurs in America have a lot of money because they have created a lot of value for society. Their wealth is a just reward for the value they have created.
Paying taxes to support essential government programs is one way we help the least fortunate among us. But levying punitive taxes on the rich reflects a more primitive impulse, appealing to base instincts of envy and resentment. The real innovation was overcoming those instincts to build a system that respects individuals, encourages success, and protects private property. American capitalism, born of our Revolution, has largely achieved this, and we continue the work of the Founders when we defend it.
State-owned enterprises are also making a comeback. After World War II, the United Kingdom nationalized dozens of industries as part of the post-war consensus. This consensus, promoted by progressive intellectual heavyweights such as John Maynard Keynes and William Beveridge, argued for a mixed economy with significant government involvement in industry. Coal, telecommunications, railways, canals, steel, and shipbuilding were just a few of the industries the UK government took over. Nationalization was supposed to generate full employment, and along with a robust welfare state, prevent the type of conditions experienced by Europeans and Americans alike during the depression of the 1930s.
The reality was different. As John Moore, former UK Financial Secretary to the Treasury, discussed in a Harvard Business Review article, nationalized industries had low returns on capital, high costs, bad labor relations, and were generally unable to satisfy consumers. According to Moore, by 1979, government-controlled industries were costing taxpayers £3 billion per year, or nearly $24 billion in current US dollars. The United Kingdom’s economic woes in the 1970s gave former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher the opening she needed to privatize these industries. Her actions improved the industries previously crushed by government mismanagement and boosted the larger economy.
This year marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. There will be no shortage of celebrations, but as we commemorate the occasion, we should remember what exactly we are celebrating: a group of radical thinkers who demanded liberty, not paternalism; trade, not protectionism; and a government that protected rights rather than one that determined them. America has not always lived up to those ideals, but our pursuit of them has enabled us to extend freedom to more people than any other nation in history. The result, though imperfect, has been extraordinary prosperity.
Today’s defenders of liberalism are the true revolutionaries, and we must do our part to advance the ideals of the American founding.
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