In Defense of Globalization - International Trade and Free Markets Essay - 1

In Defense of Globalization - International Trade and Free Markets - Essay Example One of the most important provisions under neoliberalism has been international trade and free markets. This concept of free and market-based economies can be traced back to more than 200 years back when the idea was born during the years of the Industrial Revolution. Evidence of the emergence of this idea can be traced to the discussion of such ideas in a book titled The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith in 1776, which professed that in order to attain maximum efficiency, any form of intervention into the working of the market had to be withheld by the government and all kinds of taxes and surcharges on manufacturing and commerce had to be done away with. Given the old practices of the olden days, such new and innovative ideas were immediately opposed, due to which, free markets had to be introduced by force. The introduction of free markets led to a strong growth of the economies of the countries (especially the ones in Europe) that were undergoing the industrial revolution. However, the booming trade and the discovery of new lands prompted these nations to promote trade overseas, which did not go according to what Free market theory had professed. The mercantilist system helped the imperial powers in carrying out unfair trade practices, which helped them to get richer at the expense of the overseas territories, which became poorer and poorer. This led to the creation of a financial imbalance in the world order, which saw some nations getting very prosperous at the behest of other nations, whose people were forced to remain poor. The trend in this direction continued to persist until the Second World War, whose culmination witnessed a reduction in the economic might of the empires. This reduction of strength prompted the colonized countries to break free one after another. However, the massive changes in the world geopolitical system saw the evolution of different forms of government in various countries, such as democracy in India and Communism in the Soviet Union and Russia.