Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism

A mixture of economic theory, history and contemporary evidence is used to turn much of the conventional wisdom about economic development on its head. • Free trade reduces freedom of choice for poor countries. • Keeping foreign companies out may be good for them in the long run. • Investing in a company that is going to make a loss for 17 years may be an excellent proposition. • Some of the world’s best firms are owned and run by the state. • ‘Borrowing’ ideas from more productive foreigners is essential for economic development. • Low inflation and government prudence may be harmful for economic development. • Corruption exists because there is too much, not too little, market. • Free market and democracy are not natural partners. • Countries are poor not because their people are lazy; their people are ‘lazy’ because they are poor.