Walker Wright is
a think tank policy manager with a forthcoming book, In Trade We Trust: How
Commerce Makes Us More Social, which will be published by Bloomsbury. Over the
past several months, he has posted five essays exploring different aspects of
trade and how it benefits societies. I will summarize and review each essay in
sequence. This is Part 4 of 5.
Free Trade Is Fairer Than You Think: Capitalism fosters
impartiality, not unfairness
This essay asserts that trade
fosters fairness and impartiality. He says that the same is true of
globalization. The French philosopher Montesquieu wrote, “The spirit of
commerce produces in men a certain feeling for exact justice.” He also
noted that trade trains us to be fair.
Wright cites experiments like
the Ultimatum Game, where “two participants are provided a specific sum of
money. One participant is granted the power to divide the sum between the two.
If the other player accepts the division—whether it is 50:50 or 99:1—both
players keep their share. If the receiver rejects the offer, both go home
empty-handed.”
Researchers have found that
societies that don’t trade with outsiders offer more inequitable deals, while
trading societies offer deals that are fairer and more equitable. Some
researchers altered the game so that there is no option to reject the offer,
which has become known as the Dictator Game. Similar results were obtained,
showing that:
“Even when fairness and generosity have no strategic
payoff, market integration predicts more equal treatment.”
This tendency may explain why
economic freedom also correlates strongly with democratic governance and indeed
may be a prerequisite for democracy.
Conversely, economic
restrictions often precede actions that move away from democracy, such as
restrictions on civil liberties and political freedom.
AEI’s Michael Strain has
noted that populism and economic nationalism have been associated with distrust
of liberal democracy. Strain writes:
“It is no surprise that the rise of populism and
economic nationalism has coincided with growing skepticism toward liberal
democracy and growing comfort with political violence. The erosion of economic
liberalism – free people, free markets, limited government, openness, global
commerce – reflects a loss of respect for the choices people make in the
marketplace. If we devalue choices made in markets, why wouldn’t we devalue
choices made at the ballot box?”
As the graph below clearly
shows, economic freedom and personal freedom go hand-in-hand.
Wright next explores how free
trade fosters gender equality. He cites a study that showed that societies
integrated into economic globalization correlate positively with better status
and rights for women. While people may cite bad situations for women workers,
such as the so-called “sweatshops” that exist in the world, studies have shown
that free trade and globalization actually reduce these occurrences, though it
may take some time.
“Political scientists Eric Neumayer and Indra de Soysa
have shown that increased trade openness reduces forced labor among women and
increases their economic rights, including equal pay for equal work, equality
in hiring and promotion practices, and the right to gainful employment without
the permission of a husband or male relative.”
They also found that freer
trade:
“…improves both economic and social rights, including
the right to initiate divorce, the right to an education, and freedom from
forced sterilization and female genital mutilation.”
Below, a graph from a study
published in the journal International Organization found that
free trade led to “improvements in women’s health, literacy, and economic
and political participation.”
Wright concludes:
“Unfairness is one of the most common criticisms leveled
against commercial society, often accompanied by claims that it undermines
democracy and fosters partiality. The evidence presented here suggests the
opposite. Engaging in trade and market exchange teaches us to treat others more
generously and impartially. The natural outcome of these values is the
institutional protection of certain rights. Fair treatment for all becomes the
name of the game. We begin to trust one another’s choices and to believe in our
shared ability to build society together.”
References:
Free Trade Is Fairer Than You Think: Capitalism fosters impartiality, not unfairness. Walker Wright. HumanProgress.org. January 22, 2026. Free Trade Is Fairer Than You Think - Human Progress
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