Just compare the protectionist nightmare of the 1930s with the long boom in America and Europe in the 1950s and 1960s as trade barriers fell. But the benefits of openness are not only economic. Whatever its flaws, no one seriously doubts that Europe is better off with the European Union than without it. Sceptics need only look at the bloody wars in the Balkans. Fifty years ago, all of Europe was like that.
Open societies share their ideas and their culture.
I love my country, but I see no reason why I shouldn't also enjoy the best that other countries have to offer. It is great that Canadians eat Chinese food, watch American films, and read French books. It is heartening that we celebrated when apartheid fell in South Africa and were horrified when people were butchered in Rwanda. Openness does bring with it new challenges. Our lives are more closely linked with those of others across the globe.