The enduring logic of ‘The Wealth of Nations’

If we want mass flourishing, government should be an umpire, not a coach — leave protectionism behind.

 
Oren Cass is an earnest and smart contributor to the discourse on offering opportunity for workers in depressed industries and places. Cass carries none of the bombastic demagoguery of some political opponents of openness. Indeed, his book The Once and Future Worker offers an interesting diagnosis of the larger social and economic problems driving structural change and populist protests. He also offers policy ideas for training and reskilling workers, while supporting low-wage work.

But — and it’s a big “but” — Cass’s argument is built on an intuitive but fatally damaging notion. He argues that from Adam Smith onward, economists have gotten the big picture wrong — the “wealth of a nation” lies not in consumption or living standards but in jobs, good jobs, even particular jobs, using manufacturing jobs as the symbol of “good jobs.” If this is true, economists’ big-picture claims about gains from a market economy and the “dynamism” and “innovism” it brings are misplaced. We would need to start over. The tinkering with the market economy that drew Smith’s ire may actually be part of a solution to making the economy right by recentering policy on jobs and the dignity of work. And, if some policies resemble recommendations from mainstream economists, why bother splitting hairs about policy foundations anyway?

Adam Smith attacked mercantilism because its tinkering in the economy for special business reasons made citizens worse off by shrinking income and living standards. Openness to new ideas and ways of doing business was critical for prosperity and necessary, though not sufficient for mass flourishing. Later thinkers saw that openness led to a continuous process of disruption and greater opportunity and “wealth of a nation” over time. Yes, paeans to openness have often skipped over disruption’s wake, where some businesses and workers were left behind by change. But can we just make a course correction, or do we need a new economic framework and system?

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Πηγή: aei.org