Reclaim Free Trade

Right-wing reactionaries assert that they uphold the concept of free trade under the banner of individual liberty, often referred to as consumer liberty. The Hayekian forces argue that free trade under capitalism enables consumers to have the freedom to choose from a variety of products and services, thus fostering a competitive market that benefits everyone. According to their perspective, minimal government intervention in the marketplace is essential for preserving personal freedoms and ensuring that individuals can make their own economic choices without undue restrictions. By advocating for free trade, they believe they are promoting a system where the consumer’s power to decide drives innovation, quality, and efficiency in the economy.

In reality, free trade under capitalism is neither free nor fair. It disrupts the natural relationship between producers and consumers, preventing the development of independent pricing mechanisms. Instead, it integrates both producers and consumers into a profit-driven system that prioritises corporate interests. Free trade under capitalism manipulates demand and supply to maximise profits, exerting both direct and indirect control over the processes of production, distribution, and consumption. By doing so, it creates an economic environment where market forces are heavily influenced by those with the greatest financial power, often at the expense of smaller producers and consumers.

Such a system of free trade means trade is free from producers and consumers. It results in the growth of a system where real free trade between producers and consumers suffers. Consequently, economic inequalities are exacerbated, and the autonomy of individual economic agents is significantly diminished. By manipulating market dynamics, free trade often benefits those with the greatest financial power, undermining the principles of fair competition and equitable economic participation of producers and consumers.

Free trade under capitalism destroys the social foundations of free trade. In this system, only consumers with purchasing power can participate in the trading process, which creates a fundamentally unfair economic and social environment. This approach dismantles the concept of trade as a social relationship built on mutual needs, trust, and the interaction of free producers and free consumers.

Under capitalism, the dubious ideals of free trade—where all participants have equal opportunity and freedom to trade based on their needs and capabilities—is compromised. The focus shifts to profit maximisation and market dominance, often marginalising those without significant financial resources. As a result, the social aspects of trade, such as community building, equitable exchange, and cooperative relationships, are eroded by the unfree trade under capitalism. In a fair-trading system, trade acts as a form of social interaction where producers and consumers engage with each other based on mutual trust and shared needs. However, in a capitalist framework, the emphasis on profit and competition leads to exploitation, where powerful entities dictate terms and conditions that serve their interests rather than fostering genuine, trust-based relationships.

Moreover, the exclusion of individuals without purchasing power perpetuates inequality and social division. It prevents the creation of a truly inclusive economic system where everyone has equal opportunity and access to benefit from trade. By focusing solely on economic gain, capitalism overlooks the broader social implications of trade and its potential to promote social cohesion and collective well-being.

In this way, capitalism promotes unfree trade and simultaneously destroys the social and collective foundations that make trade a meaningful and equitable social relationship. Therefore, it is important to reclaim social foundations of free trade where producers and consumers are truly free. The reclaim process needs to shift towards an economic system that prioritises social equity, mutual trust, and the inclusion of all participants, regardless of their purchasing power. Free access to trading commodities and services based on needs can help create an egalitarian economic order without the exploitation of producers and consumers under capitalism. It is time to reclaim free trade for the freedom of consumers and producers.

Bhabani Shankar Nayak is a political commentator