I'm kind of taken by the concept of India/Russia/China/Phlilipines/etc. coming on-line in the world. So many people producing so much great stuff & services. I think my fear is that this would mean America becomes third-world, instead of raising up other nations.
Anyway, last question for today - so this is freep (allegedly conservative) - what makes free-trade a conservative value?
Because economic freedom is at the base of almost all others, and I want to conserve Americans' freedoms. If you aren't free to acquire capital and spend it as you choose, for the most part (see my post in #82 of this thread), then many of your other freedoms will be diminished or removed as well (freedom of travel, association, etc.). Ultimately, I don't really care about getting into who is more conservative (I have never voted for anything other than Republicans, who are the only ones even close to advancing conservative causes; many of the people that debate me on here about free trade have admitted they have voted Democratic (read Fritz Hollings' (D-South Carolina) retirement announcement speech today where he railed against free trade to understand why). I care about what works best for our country and the most Americans. Ultimately, all I can say as far as free trade being more or less "conservative", it's no surprise that on this issue, the FReepers that hate my stance on free trade the most, are 100% in line with the AFL-CIO leadership on this issue. And that is about as Left as one can get.