Bennett Pope, Chapter 12, Question 5

A passage I found particularly apt to make the argument that trade is good is found on 280. Wheelan is talking about the use of blockades in wartime when he says, "Cutting off trade leaves a country poorer and less productive—which is why we tend to do it to our enemies." This is a fabulous argument in favor of trade because it is recognized very widely that a blockade is a very useful weapon in war. If a lack of trade issn't harmful to to a nation, why would we do it to our opponents in times of war? Another interesting connection I made in this chapter is that Lincoln didn't want to engage in trade with England for the railroad tracks, but Lincoln also played a major factor in deciding to set up the blockade against the south during the Civil War, which contradicts itself. It looks like Honest Abe could have built his railroad more efficiently if he had Naked Economics to help him.