Open trade is a new issue for conservatives to rethink”
I’m with you.
We can agree with the principle that seems historically tested that in the AGGREGATE free trade increases something like the GNP (the global GNP). But as conservatives, we have to recognize the equally historically tested and proven truth that communities get decimated by this. Destruction of communities is clearly NOT a conservative position; the building of communities is.
Conservatism must also avoid stagnation. So we recognize that protection from change has limits...of course it does. But creative destruction sometimes ends up just being destruction.
America is not Singapore.
We absolutely have a historic interest in having real communities where people have real jobs that time them to that community.
Trump gets this in his bold rethinking which calls for increasing productivity, while not letting foreigners have all the fun at our expense.
You probably mention communities because you saw dismantling of factories in your local area. We all did, but the media downplays it.