In an article in Breitbart News yesterday, The Libertarian Case for Donald Trump’s ‘Buy American’ Order, the writer argues that:
It hardly follows from this that all barriers to trade or trade preferences are somehow “bad.” The wealth and welfare of a country consist of more than its income. As Ludwig Von Mises and Murray Rothbard were at pains to explain, wealth is subjective, which means material wealth is not the only thing that counts. It is altogether possible that one may prefer lower living standards in favor of a more humane distribution of wealth or a government procurement policy that recycles dollars taxed and borrowed back into the domestic economy.
The Libertarian Case for Donald Trump's 'Buy American' Order - Breitbart
So, it's OK for the government to install trade barriers and pick winners and losers in American industry if the goal is to "humanely" redistribute wealth. If that results in lower living standards, so be it.
It hardly follows from this that all barriers to trade or trade preferences are somehow “bad.” The wealth and welfare of a country consist of more than its income. As Ludwig Von Mises and Murray Rothbard were at pains to explain, wealth is subjective, which means material wealth is not the only thing that counts. It is altogether possible that one may prefer lower living standards in favor of a more humane distribution of wealth or a government procurement policy that recycles dollars taxed and borrowed back into the domestic economy.
The Libertarian Case for Donald Trump's 'Buy American' Order - Breitbart
So, it's OK for the government to install trade barriers and pick winners and losers in American industry if the goal is to "humanely" redistribute wealth. If that results in lower living standards, so be it.