Op-Ed: Dan Calabrese: When Did Conservatives Start Fearing Competition from Other Countries?
Somewhere along the line, over the course of the past couple decades, it became common among Republican voters to regard free trade as a threat to America’s economic vitality and to regard immigration as a threat to the…
Somewhere along the line, over the course of the past couple decades, it became common among Republican voters to regard free trade as a threat to America’s economic vitality and to regard immigration as a threat to the livelihoods of Americans.
Both ideas have their roots in “America first”-style populism. Why should we open our markets to foreign competition that can hurt American companies? Why should we let foreigners come and live here before we first ensure that Americans have enough jobs?
Yet these lines of thinking are not consistent with classic conservative ideas about growth, opportunity and free markets. Indeed, they have more in common with the left-wing view of the world that sees wealth as a zero-sum game and recognizes no real value to the concept of growth.
The optimistic conservatism of Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp saw both trade and immigration as ways to boost productivity, create wealth and expand opportunity.
Let’s start with immigration. While most would agree that it’s essential to secure the border and stop illegal immigration, conservative philosophy would welcome the arrival of immigrants who want to work hard and produce. And it would not worry about immigrants “taking jobs that could go to Americans.”
Why? It’s not, as you sometimes hear, because they “do the jobs Americans don’t want to do.” We’re talking about highly capable immigrants who might go into life sciences, or engineering, or manufacturing.
Why would we welcome them? Because conservative economic philosophy is based on the idea that real growth comes from the supply side, so anyone who can contribute to value-added productivity helps expand the opportunity pie for everyone else.
If you’re looking for a good job at Company A, it benefits you that an immigrant has already joined Company A and is making that company more productive and profitable. He or she isn’t taking your job. He or she is putting Company A in a stronger position to create an opportunity for you.