What's New About the New Offshoring

I am happy that economists like Alan Blinder are rethinking the consquences of free trade. It is too easy for most economists to conflate flawed reasoning with a flawed position. Even fools are right sometimes.

This, I believe is the case with free trade. The fact the anti-free trade crowd espouses a reasoning that does not hold up to scurnity does not imply that they are necessarily wrong.

Blinder's critque brings up the heart of the issue. There will be a transition process. That process will be difficult for some people. To the extent that we care about those people, we must be aware the consquences of globalization and be prepared to address them.

Moreover, it is in our naked self-interest to do so. A favorite quote of mine:

Why do we care about the poor? Because when they revolt, they always hang the elite.

Perhaps the new message should read:

Why do we care about the upper middle class? Because when their jobs are threatened they always vote out the current administration.

If there is anything new about the new offshoring then that's it. Its not how I would have prefered to gain allies, but I'll take it.