The new order of trade

THIS NEWSPAPER was founded in 1843 to campaign for the repeal of Britain’s protectionist corn laws (which was achieved three years later). The case it made for free trade was that tariffs enrich the wealthy at the expense of the poor, and that discrimination against foreigners leads to copycat retaliation, making everybody worse off. Our introductory issue lamented that governments, classes and individuals “have been too apt to conclude that their benefit could be secured by a policy injurious to others”.