Như vậy, cuộc suy thoái dốc bắt đầu vào tháng 11 năm 1973 chỉ phát âm một cuộc suy thoái một năm sau đó, nhưng sáu tháng sau đó, tháng 3 năm 1975, chúng tôi đang trên con đường phục hồi. Hầu hết các cuộc suy thoái hơn trong một năm hoặc năm rưỡi. Tất nhiên, có lẽ đó là điểm: thành lập để ru ngủ, tất cả chúng ta để ngủ cho đến khi suy thoái kinh tế. | 89 Protectionism and the Destruction of Prosperity Protectionism often refuted and seemingly abandoned has returned and with a vengeance. The Japanese who bounced back from grievous losses in World War II to astound the world by producing innovative high-quality products at low prices are serving as the convenient butt of protectionist propaganda. Memories of wartime myths prove a heady brew as protectionists warn about this new Japanese imperialism even worse than Pearl Harbor. This imperialism turns out to consist of selling Americans wonderful TV sets autos microchips etc. at prices more than competitive with American firms. Is this flood of Japanese products really a menace to be combatted by the . government Or is the new Japan a godsend to American consumers In taking our stand on this issue we should recognize that all government action means coercion so that calling upon the . government to intervene means urging it to use force and violence to restrain peaceful trade. One trusts that the protectionists First published as a monograph in 1986. 355 356 Making Economic Sense are not willing to pursue their logic of force to the ultimate in the form of another Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Keep Your Eye on the Consumer As we unravel the tangled web of protectionist argument we should keep our eye on two essential points 1 protectionism means force in restraint of trade and 2 the key is what happens to the consumer. Invariably we will find that the protectionists are out to cripple exploit and impose severe losses not only on foreign consumers but especially on Americans. And since each and every one of us is a consumer this means that protectionism is out to mulct all of us for the benefit of a specially privileged subsidized few and an inefficient few at that people who cannot make it in a free and unhampered market. Take for example the alleged Japanese menace. All trade is mutually beneficial to both parties in this case Japanese producers and American .
