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 5 of 5.
Make Trade, Not War: How Capitalism Creates Peace: Open
markets lead to closed battlefields
This essay shows that
commerce promotes peace. Trade strengthens economic interdependence, so the
choice to hurt a perceived enemy will result in hurting oneself as well, which
deters attacking them.
“Distrust, corruption, unfairness, and intolerance can
often erupt into violence. By undermining these less-than-desirable attitudes
and behaviors, trade can help reduce violence as well. But it may be even more
straightforward than that: it’s simply not a good idea to maim or kill your
customers or suppliers. War is bad for business.”
Wright cites economist
Christopher Blattman and his book Why We Fight, which argues that
while economic interdependence doesn’t eliminate the risk of war, it does
create powerful incentives that have to be overcome if war is to happen. He
also cites Stephen Pinker’s book, The Better Angels of Our Nature,
which shows clearly that global violence has been reduced to a fraction of what
it once was. This resulted in the idea of democratic peace theory,
which simply acknowledges that democracies promote peace. Trust in the
institution of democracy fosters trust among different democracies. Pinker
notes that this is because democratic countries are more accountable to their
people.
Wright notes that more recent
research suggests that markets may play a bigger role than previously
recognized in promoting peace. This acknowledgement has resulted in the
development of the idea of a capitalist peace theory. It should be
noted that democratic peace theory and capitalist peace theory are not mutually
exclusive but work together. Economic interdependence is “part of the glue
that cements the ‘liberal peace’ together.” The two graphs below show
simply that growth in trade correlates with fewer wars.
On the other hand, trade
restrictions increase economic isolation, which breeds distrust and may lead to
hatred and war. As scholars Jean-Frédéric Morin & Jonathan Paquin put it:
“The positive relationship between economic interdependence
and peaceful relationships is so well established that research now focuses on
the conditions that cause variations.”
One study in the Journal of
Conflict Resolution concluded that trade in manufactured goods had a stronger
effect in mitigating war risks than trade in agricultural goods and raw
materials. Other studies suggest that trade can also reduce the risk of civil
wars. One study demonstrated that “secure property rights, high-quality
legal institutions, sound money, and free trade lower the probability of civil
war.” Civil wars often occur among isolated ethnic groups, and an important
means to reduce isolation is to trade, which reduces economic isolation.
Wright notes some other
interesting work by economist Don Lavoie, who noted that the militarization of
economies increases war risks.
“Militarized central planners tend to wage war on their
own citizens. Crucially, trade openness acts as a check on this central power,
keeping potentially violent governments at bay.”
One need only consider the
militarized economies of Russia and Iran. Russia engages in imperialistic
invasions and has recently militarized its economy to extremes. In tandem,
human rights and economic opportunities have been severely limited for its
citizens. Of course, sanctions are one cause of this, but the Russian
government is fully willing to endure sanctions, which limit its economic
engagement around the world and degrade its economy, for its ill-conceived war
aims. Iran is a different situation, but the country has spent its entire
existence militarizing and preparing for war, both at home and with its
regional military proxies. Both Russia and Iran have put severe restrictions on
internet freedom and availability. We all know that no good can come from this.
Other researchers have shown
that economic interdependence reduces the risks of genocide and promotes human
rights and tolerance.
“Political scientist Clair Apodaca has also shown trade
to be “advantageous to guaranteeing human rights,” with foreign direct
investment being “favorable for human rights.” Emilie M. Hafner-Burton of UC
San Diego summarized the state of the scholarship well: “One of the key
discoveries of the past few decades is that it is possible to promote human
rights by encouraging economic openness and growth through trade and
investment…Market-oriented economic development…is correlated with better
protections for human rights.”
Wright also notes that the
association between increased trade and peace has been known and recognized for
a long time:
“Over two centuries ago, German philosopher Immanuel
Kant wrote, “The spirit of trade cannot coexist with war, and sooner or later
this spirit dominates every people. For among all those powers (or means) that
belong to a nation, financial power may be the most reliable in forcing nations
to pursue the noble cause of peace.”
He also quotes Thomas Paine,
who argued that commerce is:
“a pacific system, operating to unite mankind, by
rendering nations, as well as individuals, useful to each other…If commerce
were permitted to act to the universal extent it is capable of, it would
extirpate the system of war, and produce a revolution in the uncivilized state
of governments.”
Final Thoughts on This Series of Essays
Some of my final thoughts on
this series of essays would be that while some people may slip through the
cracks and not benefit as much by trade as others, if there were less or no
trade, there would be no cracks to slip through, as we would all be on the
bottom. Anti-capitalists may not want to acknowledge it, but the evidence-based
science clearly shows the vast benefits of the synonyms trade, commerce,
capitalism, and free markets. Essentially, being anti-capitalist is nearly
equivalent to being anti-wealth, anti-trust, anti-honesty, anti-fairness,
anti-tolerance, and anti-peace. Thus, one might say it is basically dumb. As
these essays show, it is also anti-science. Thus, I would say to political
Progressives and socialists, including Democratic Socialists, that the evidence
is clearly against your positions and very strongly so. That is not to say we
don’t need social welfare, guardrails, regulations, checks and balances, and
other means to foster equality. But to say, as many do, that capitalism is the
cause of all the problems in the world is to turn things totally upside down.
In fact, it has probably done more to prevent and solve problems in the world
than any other human idea.
I look forward to reading Wright's book, but alas, I may not be able to afford to buy it, since I am living on a limited income at present. Of course, I am not blaming capitalism for my plight since I know I have benefited from it massively over the years.
References:
Make
Trade, Not War: How Capitalism Creates Peace: Open markets lead to closed
battlefields. Walker Wright, HumanProgress.org. May 15, 2026. Make
Trade, Not War: How Capitalism Creates Peace - Human Progress
.
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