This is Democracy – Episode 264: Free Trade and Peace

Disruptive economic shifts have created massive inequalities that inflame the contemporary crisis of democracy. To understand these shifts, including the new mercantilism and the cowardice of traditional leaders, we must go back to the origins of free trade promises for prosperity and peace. These promises underpinned the politics of democracy around the world until the early 21st century. Historian Marc-William Palen takes us back two centuries to understand how free trade, capitalism, and democracy were supposed to work in the eyes of Victorian reformers. We can’t replay those times, but we must learn from them as we think about reforms to support democracy today. Please listen to this fascinating discussion or read the transcript.