On the other side of the national divide is Second Wave America, the forgotten Americans left behind. Free trade, while broadly beneficial, does have its human cost. Some Americans have lost their jobs and seen their prospects diminished because of foreign competition. But there is nothing distinctive about international trade in this regard. The fact is that we are living in a time of sweeping and convulsive economic change.
Foreign trade is a part, but only a part, of that overall picture.
It elevates economics above all else. But man does not live by bread alone. To worship the market is a form of idolatry no less than worshipping the state. The market should be made to work for man, not the other way around. But Buchanan can follow this line only so far, since ultimately it conflicts with his economic nationalism.