Category Archives: Uncategorized

Adam Smith versus Donald Trump, round 1

[Update: Yesterday afternoon (9 April), President Trump reduced his country-specific tariffs down to a universal 10% rate for all trade partners, except for China. See here, here, and here. Note: Trump’s universal 10% baseline rate went into effect today; only … Continue reading →

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In defense of Trump the trade despot?

Previously, I have surveyed Adam Smith’s four exceptions to free trade in Book IV, Chapter 2 of The Wealth of Nations (see my recap here), but at the same time I have left open the $64 question of their application … Continue reading →

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Madison’s Tariff Act of 1789 and Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures

I hate to be “that guy” — especially among my fellow libertarian friends — but the more I study the law and economics of tariffs in U.S. history, the more I realize that my colleague and co-author (see here) Salim … Continue reading →

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Recap of Adam Smith’s exceptions to free trade

In anticipation of my talk at an upcoming symposium this spring on “The Age of Trump: Projecting Policy and Legal Impacts in a Second Term” at the University of Saint Thomas (UST), I began blogging on Adam Smith’s timeless argument … Continue reading →

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Sunday song: thank u, next

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*Retazos de una vida*

That is the title of a new documentary film (in Spanish) about the life of my beloved aunt, the Cuban poet Julie Pujol Karel. Details below: Update (9 April): here is a link to the documentary.

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PSA: Adam Smith > Jean-Baptiste Colbert

For the record, I am interrupting my multi-part plea to Adam Smith scholars — i.e. my series on the dos and don’ts of citing the Scottish philosopher’s “Lectures on Jurisprudence” — to share the following public service announcement: classical liberalism … Continue reading →

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A plea to Adam Smith scholars: two exceptions

Thus far, I have explained why scholars should be more cautious when citing Adam Smith’s “Lectures on Jurisprudence” (LJ). In summary, although LJ purports to be a primary source — a transcription of Smith’s law lectures at the University of … Continue reading →

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A plea to Adam Smith scholars (part 3 of 4)

As I have mentioned in my previous two posts, my plea to my fellow Adam Smith scholars is simple: stop citing the “Lectures on Jurisprudence” without proper qualification or a disclaimer. Even if those lecture notes were totally accurate — … Continue reading →

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A plea to Adam Smith scholars (part 2 of 4)

File under: Not April Fools! As a follow-up to my previous post, there are at least two reasons why scholars of Adam Smith should be more cautious when citing the so-called “Lectures on Jurisprudence” (LJ). To begin with, those student … Continue reading →

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