The Curious Task Marc-William Palen - Were There Left-Wing Visions of Free Trade?
Jun 11, 2025
Marc-William Palen, a historian at the University of Exeter and author of Pax Economica, delves into the evolution of left-wing visions of free trade from the 19th century to the Cold War. He highlights key movements like the Anti-Corn Law League and figures such as Marx. The conversation reveals how feminist ideologies and Christian pacifism intersected with economic principles, while also critiquing protectionist policies. Palen advocates for a reexamination of leftist approaches to globalization, stressing their relevance in today's economic debates.
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Archive Surprise Sparked The Book
- Palen found early 1900s free trade organization lists filled with suffragists, Marxists, and radicals while researching archives in New York and Boston.
- That surprising mix inspired him to trace left-wing free trade networks across eras.
Protectionism Drove Imperial Expansion
- Late 19th-century global politics mixed protectionism and imperial expansion, not a pure free-trade golden age.
- Left-wing free traders saw economic nationalism as driving imperialism, trade wars, and conflict.
Britain's Free Trade Was Exceptional
- Britain's 1846 repeal of the Corn Laws set an influential free-trade precedent but did not universalize free trade.
- Other rising powers reacted with protectionism from the 1870s onward amid economic distress.
