Churchill understood the folly of protectionism better than Trump

On Feb. 19, 1904, a young English politician delivered a speech at Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England. For more than 90 minutes, he spoke with precision, wit, and humor, drawing guffaws as he excoriated the protectionists in the British Empire who believed they could raise the standard of living through tariffs.

“It is the theory of the Protectionist that imports are an evil. He thinks that if you shut out the foreign imported manufactured goods, you will make these goods yourselves, in addition to the goods which you make now, including those goods which we make to exchange for the foreign goods that come in,” the conservative member of Parliament said. “If a man can believe that, he can believe anything.”

The comment drew laughter.

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