Ok, sure. You just keep telling yourself that.
Since your memory is about as good as your reasoning skills, let's look at what you said again: Ricardo's "comparative advantage" was written in an era when capital couldn't flee.
But capital did flee. It went to the UK and then away from it. Just like in most other countries from the 17th - 21st centuries. You can throw yourself on the floor screaming and kicking about being right, but you were wrong here and will continue to be wrong.
But now it can flow faster thanks to the click of a mouse? Great. Thanks for stating the obvious. You're still wrong.....along with every other conclusion.
So an American worker who is put out of work by manufacturing moving to China is every bit as able to move to China and work in one of the factories, as is the capital able to move?
And what do you propose to do about the disintegration of the middle and working classes? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
My conclusion of you being in favor of doing trade deal after trade deal, is that you are either insane or you favor the result: disintegration of the middle class.
And do any of your “theories” of comparative advantage take into account what will happen when Americans go to a different extreme. When they either can’t elect a Sanders or a Trump, or they do and nothing changes, then they burn down the damn country?
What does comparative advantage say about a French Revolution style insurrection that burns the country down and destroys half the wealth? You may be blind to the danger, but I’m not.
And what is your solution for lower wages? Those lower wages that buy cheap shit from China don’t buy more college education, more healthcare or more easily pay for houses or apartment rent.
Economists are just whores and propagandists for the modern elites, just like the religious leaders were whores for the ancient and feudal elites.
Moral arguments “I should be able to trade with who I want to” pale in comparison to the freedom that will be lost when the peasants start demanding free shit that we all know won’t be free.