Free Trade

Guyot provides a history of French tariff policy from the time of Colbert and a discussion of its effects on particular industries such as textiles and food. He then discusses protection in the US and Germany and refutes many… more

This is a critique of both the idea that only agriculture is truly a productive activity and government war-time policy which resulted in rising food prices and taxes which had a deleterious impact on the poor.

A cheap mass produced pamphlet of Cobden’s speech distributed by the Anti-Corn Law League.

Barbon’s A Discourse of Trade, is one of the best-known early tracts for freedom of trade, it also discusses topics as varied as the nature of value, the role of fashion in economic life, the importance of moral dispositions such as… more

Economic Freedom and Interventionism is a primer of the thought of Ludwig von Mises and an anthology of his writings. This volume contains forty-seven articles edited by Mises scholar Bettina Bien Greaves. Among them are Mises’s… more

This is the translation by the Foundation for Economic Education of Bastiat’s longest and best known work Economic Harmonies. A new translation of this work by Liberty Fund is in progress. See the Summary of the Bastiat Project for… more

The Foundation for Economic Education’s translation of Bastiat’s series of short essays in which he tries to correct common misunderstandings about the free market.

An early piece by Cobden on foreign policy and free trade written under the pseudonym of “A Manchester Manufacturer.”

Cantillon wrote one major work, Essay on the Nature of Trade in General, which was regarded by Jevons and Hayek as an important early contribution to the theory of marginal utility. It lay forgotten for over 100 years until Jevons… more

Mill provides a brief history of the Corn Laws and argues for their abolition.

A collection of speeches and articles illustrating the broad range of views of the British classical liberals and free traders of the 19th century known as the Manchester School. They cover foreign policy, free trade, the repeal of… more

A brief and succinct defense of free trade.

The organ of the National Anti-Corn-Law League was based in London and appeared between 1843 and 1846. It closed when the League achieved its goal of abolishing the Corn Laws in 1846. It was perhaps the first lobby group to use… more

An example of one of Hodgskin’s popular lectures to a working class audience, this time on the benefits of free trade.

The great Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises provides a concise and tightly-argued one volume defense of classical liberalism, focusing on the core concepts of private property, limited government, peace, and the free market.

This online discussion is part of the series “Liberty Matters: A Forum for the Discussion of Matters pertaining to Liberty.” Here we examine the career of Richard Cobden and in particular the way that he pioneered forms of advocacy… more

Vol.2 of the 1st edition of Bastiat’s works contains his writings and speeches on the free trade movement.

Vol.3 of the 1st edition of Bastiat’s works contains a long introduction by Bastiat on the English Anti-Corn Law League’s agitation for free trade and then Bastiat’s translation of a selection of speeches and newspaper articles by… more

In this anthology, Mises offers an articulate and accessible introduction to and critique of two topics he considers especially important: inflation and government interventionism.

The companion volume to A Plea for Liberty which continued the argument against the Fabian Socialists and for a policy of strict non-intervention in the economy by the government.

A collection of essays written in the early 1830s as part of a campaign in favor of free trade. The second edition of 1840 contains the minutes of a Free Trade Convention held in Philadelphia in 1831 as well as a dedication to… more

George was not just an advocate of the single tax on the unimproved value of land, but also a strong defender of free trade, as this work demonstrates.

Read the Liberty Classic on this title from Econlib

A clear and strong case for free trade against proctectionism. The chapter of the fallacies of protectionism is very thorough.

Another early work on foreign policy and trade by Richard Cobden written under the pseudonym of “A Manchester Manufacturer.”

Volume 1 of a two volume collection of Cobden’s speeches on Free Trade, Finance, War, Foreign Policy, and Parliamentary Reform.

Atkinson applies the free trade ideas of Bastiat and Cobden to the American situation. He criticizes the tradition of Hamilton, debunks the idea that protection improves the economic condition of ordinary workers, argues that free… more

In a rather grumpy “advertisement” Senior tells us that he rather unwillingly had to give a formal lecture as Professor of Political Economy at Oxford University and have it published. The books contains a lecture on the transmission… more

This is a collection of essays published by the National Anti-Corn Law League. It consists of three prize winning essays on the Corn Laws and a collection of other Anti-Corn Law League propaganda. It was issued as a presentation copy… more

Cobden reflects on how the Crimean War can best be ended without humiliating Russia and helping her be integrated into the world market again.