Is trade with China good for America? Is it even good for China?
Our Behind the Headlines commentaries are published in more than 500 newspapers across the United States. One of those papers is a content-rich and attractively designed monthly tabloid called The Regional Observer, published in Windgap, Pennsylvania by the husband-and-wife team of Ben and Diane Hartzell. Ben is something of a political philosopher, and he drops us an e-mail every now and then to compare notes on various issues.
Ben is currently wrestling with the implications of trade with China: Will it increase the freedom of the Chinese people, or make the tyrants at the top more dangerous? Ben believes the latter, and has decided to boycott Chinese goods. "As American consumers buy more and more Chinese goods," he contends, "the Chinese Communist slaveholders gain strength. In the long run, I just can't see that making China into an economic superpower can be good for freedom."
Having discussed the issue with an activist friend who ignores product labels, Ben wanted to know where I stand on the matter. Though my pathological frugality generally keeps this question of conscience from coming to the fore, I confessed to Ben that "I've gone back and forth on this issue -- from not paying any attention to the origin of things I buy . . . to being very meticulous about avoiding the products of certain countries, companies, etc. I'm currently trying to steer clear of anything made in China," I assured him, "any recent Disney productions, and any poultry products from Tyson (because of his unsavory connection to the POTUS). I have heard good arguments made, pro and con, on this issue (and on free trade vs. protectionism, for that matter), and am inclined to conclude that the answer, as usual, lies somewhere in the middle."
I acknowledged a certain ambivalence based on arguably naive or delusional imaginings. I sometimes wonder, for instance, "what goes through the minds of the poor Chinese workers who are manufacturing all the goods now showing up on our shelves. Surely some of them must recognize that the land for which their products are destined is freer and more prosperous than their own," I speculated; "and who knows how that recognition might manifest itself? Surely the Chinese workers who manufacture Christmas ornaments (the ones with religious themes, that is) must be affected in some way by these icons of our faith."
I also professed a sense of righteous satisfaction over "buying products from formerly captive nations such as Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland -- on the assumption that increasing prosperity and a growing middle class will help ensure their newfound freedom." I confided to Ben that "I would like to apply that same logic to China," but feel obliged to resist the sentimental temptation. As Ben had himself, I concluded that "it is simply suicidal to augment the economic power of a potential enemy. Until we are absolutely certain that China's intentions are benign," I counseled, "we had better assume that they aren't, and act accordingly."
