Liberalism in Europe 'facing its biggest fight' against the far-right and 'the politics of fear'

[pampango]

19. Mercantilism is not 'competition among nations'. It is economic policy to benefit one country over

others. In fact, mercantalists specifically reject open competition among nations by using policies such as high tariffs, export subsidies and non-tariff barriers to trade that do the exact opposite of promoting 'competition among nations'.

Mercantilism was an economic theory and practice, dominant in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century, that promoted governmental regulation of a nation's economy for the purpose of augmenting state power at the expense of rival national powers. It is the economic counterpart of political absolutism. Mercantilism includes a national economic policy aimed at accumulating monetary reserves through a positive balance of trade, especially of finished goods. Historically, such policies frequently led to war and also motivated colonial expansion. The Mercantilism theory varies in sophistication from one writer to another and has evolved over time. High tariffs, especially on manufactured goods, are an almost universal feature of mercantilism policy. Other policies have included:

Building overseas colonies;
Forbidding colonies to trade with other nations;
Monopolizing markets with staple ports;
Banning the export of gold and silver, even for payments;
Forbidding trade to be carried in foreign ships;
Export subsidies;
Promoting manufacturing with research or direct subsidies;
Limiting wages;
Maximizing the use of domestic resources;
Restricting domestic consumption with non-tariff barriers to trade.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantilism

Believers in the 'free market' do not reject competition among nations. Germany, Sweden and essentially all European countries trade more "freely" (without tariffs or other restrictions) than the US does. Such trade inherently represents a competition among nations as opposed to mercantilism.

With respect to support for unions, you seem to be differentiating between Liberal and Social Democratic parties - which in a European context is fair enough. From an American perspective 'liberals' tend to support unions and 'conservatives' tend to oppose them.