(S: George Shultz; M: Charlie Munger)
S: Charlie, the way I figure it is if we stop trading with China, the other advanced nations will do it anyway, and we wouldn't stop the ascent of China compared to us, and we'd lose the Ricardo-diagnosed advantages of Trade.
M: Well, George, you've just invented a new form of the tragedy of the commons. You're locked in this system, and you can't fix it. You're going to go to a tragic hell in a handbasket, if going to hell involves being once the great leader of the world and finally going to the shallows in terms of leadership.
S: Charlie, I do not want to think about this.
After reading the above conversation in "Poor Charlie's Almanac", my contemplation on free trade and the Law of Comparative Advantage should end.
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