Meet the Father of Free Trade.

[pampango]

47. You are right. We don't live in the same world that FDR did. We live in the world he helped create.

we live, if you will, in the world of post-modern globalization.

Which I think would not surprise the "father of globalization". Of course, he undoubted expected 'globalization' to develop here in the way that as in Europe with domestic protections that he adopted for the US.

There are reasons that liberals supported him then and there are reasons that liberals oppose the tpp now.

It was not my understanding that the OP was directed at TPP but dealt more with 'free trade' which, arguably, is not what TPP is principally about. FDR's ITO went well beyond trade rules to include arbitration of disputes, labor standards, business regulation, investor protection and a commitment to full employment.

I would argue that FDR's approach to trade is very relevant today. If TPP does not much the same, it is not consistent with FDR trade views and should be rejected.

The benefits of the TPP will largely flow to corporations and the wealthy. I can't imagine for a fucking second that FDR would support it.

The benefits of the entire American economy (the 23% involving trade and the 77% that is purely domestic) largely flow the wealthy. We don't change that flow by arguing about trade policy. We change that flow the same way FDR reversed the record level of income income inequality that he inherited - through progressive taxes, corporate regulation, strong unions and a good safety net.

It is hard to imagine what FDR's ghost would think of TPP. My guess is it would take his ghost a long, long time to adjust to the fact that we have regressed back to the republican policies of Coolidge and Hoover (other than the isolationism and high tariffs they promoted) that he worked so hard to reverse.