Ep. 236: Marc-William Palen - Were There Left-Wing Visions of Free Trade?

The Curious Task

Alex speaks with Marc-William Palen about the evolution of left-wing visions of free trade from the mid-19th century through the Cold War, highlighting key movements and figures like the Anti-Corn Law League, Karl Marx, and the Fair Trade movement, and contrasting these with protectionist and imperialist policies of the era.

Episode Notes:

Marc-William's book "Pax Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free Trade World": https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691199320/pax-economica

Marx on Free Trade:

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1888/free-trade/#:~:text=Only%20under%20Free%20Trade%20can,%2C%20wage%2Dlaborers%20there%3B%20hereditary

The Eric Schliesser episode of the Curious Task mentioned by Alex: https://www.podbean.com/pu/pbblog-t5nu9-538037

Journal of Liberal History's summary of the history of the Anti-Corn Law League:

https://liberalhistory.org.uk/history/anti-corn-law-league/

Overview of the history of the Opium Wars:

https://asiapacificcurriculum.ca/learning-module/opium-wars-china#:~:text=The%20Opium%20Wars%20in%20the,China%20lost%20both%20wars.

A primer on the origins of Fair Trade and the Haslemere Declaration:

https://imperialglobalexeter.com/2018/05/03/what-fair-trade-was-originally-about-the-haslemere-declaration-of-1968/