Chapter I: Protectionist Postulates, Chapter II: Economic Realities

A nation ought—

2. A protective tariff ought to bring in as little as possible to the Treasury, since its object is to prevent the importation of goods.

It ought to bring in as much as possible to those who produce the protected goods.

1. Protection may encourage the establishment of new firms, but it cannot cause an increase in consumption; therefore, since the object of every industry is to sell at a profit, Protection cannot cause industrial development.

It may cause the factitious development of particular industries at the expense of capital as a whole.

2. “Protection to national labour” means that every wages earner, in buying the things he needs, has to pay according to the duty 20, 30, 60, sometimes even 100 per cent. more of the produce of his labour than the normal price fixed by the free play of supply and demand.

While he is earning the money that goes to pay for the increase in cost of living effected by Protection, he is not working for himself nor for his family, but in order to pay a private tax which goes to increase or assure the rent of the capitalist landowners and a few great manufacturers.

5. Profit is the object of all industry and trade.

An industry sells abroad in order to get more than it gives, otherwise it loses.

Therefore imports should exceed exports.

3. Market price is the barometer of economics. Prices indicate the state of the market, abundance or dearth.

Protection attempts to stereotype prices, Cartels falsify them: their prices are always either above or below the true price.