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Michael Watsonâs rejection of collective bargaining belies a confusion commonplace in conservative conversations, which often condemn institutions of labor as imperfect without contemplating the plausible alternatives. For instance, Watsonâs paean to âemployee freedomâ would seem to envision the humble worker meeting managers in the marketplace and haggling with them to arrange for desirable employment. If one offer is not to his liking, he can turn to another. If, after a few weeks, months, or years, on the job he finds himself mistreated, the exit is but a few steps away. Across the threshold, other, better opportunities await. By maximizing the labor marketâs freedom, we can allow each worker to optimize his own results.
In the real world, which so rarely approximates the libertarian imagination, none of this is true. Individual workers, especially those lacking prized and differentiated skills, tend to suffer from having far less power than employers in the labor market. This ought not be dismissed as the âBernie Sanders viewâ; it was Adam Smithâs. âUpon all ordinary occasions,â he warned in The Wealth of Nations, employers âhave the advantage in the dispute, and force [workmen] into a compliance with their terms.â
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Trade Deals in the Time of Tariffs
The reciprocal levies aimed at allies have been paused for 90 days, now what?
Trumpâs tariffs aim to reset global trade â and boost Americaâs workers
President Trump ushered in a new era of US trade policy Tuesday â a national course correction after decades of unfair trade practices
Stop Freaking Out. Trumpâs Tariffs Can Still Work.
Last week’s âLiberation Dayâ marked a kind of D-Day in the effort to reorder the international economic system.