I actually have no doubt that free trade would be beneficial, but it's the degree of free trade that's the important issue here. Please be reminded that there are no "free" economy in this world. Even Hong Kong, which prides itself for being the freest economy in the world, is not completely free--it still imposes tariff on imports.
As I mentioned before, I think poorer countries (only some) can benefit from our technologies and from their relatively inexpensive labor (i.e. India). However, there are many countries that probably won't like countries that are only have a comparative advantage in producing bananas in Latin America. Can you please elaborate on how America, Eastern Europe, and Latin America have become rich from poor? Please do not oversimplify, and also take into consideration government-backed economic policies. As far as America is concerned, I remember the government was instrumental in backing the railroad and steel industry.
As for Japan, I highly doubt that lowered regulations and taxes only brought it to its economic peak. That is using evidence and ignoring others to serve your point. The government has a huge role in investing in sectors that it finds strategic in the long-run, i.e. technology. It's not just a forum they created. Please do some research. All four of the Asian tigers have done this, which brings up the question of what happened to the Asian economic crisis of '99. The Thai economy bubble burst can be contributed to liberalizing too quickly, by allowing too much FDI (foreign direct investment) to flow in, and making the economy too hot.
I agree, however, that the Japanese malaise is also caused by the government in some sense, but be careful, it's also contributed to bad financial investments made by privately-owned banks.
Best, Celine
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