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  3. For the past 250 years, politicians and hard-headed men of business have diligently ignored what economics, has to say about the

For the past 250 years, politicians and hard-headed men of business have diligently ignored what economics, has to say about the

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问题     For the past 250 years, politicians and hard-headed men of business have diligently ignored what economics, has to say about the gains from trade—much as they may pretend, or in some cases even believe, that they are paying close attention. Except for those on the hard left, politicians of every ideological stripe these days swear their allegiance to the basic principle of free trade. Businessmen say the same. So when either group issues its calls for barriers against foreign competition, it is never because free trade is wrong in principle, it is because foreigners are cheating somehow, rendering the principles void. Or else it is because something about the way the world works has changed, so that the basic principles, ever valid in themselves, need to be adjusted. And those adjustments, of course, then oblige these staunch defenders of free-trade-in-principle to call for all manners of restrictions on trade.
    In this way, protectionism is periodically refreshed and reinvented. Anti-trade sentiment, especially in the United States, is currently becoming one of its strongest revivals in years. Earlier bogus "new conditions" that were deemed to undermine the orthodox case for liberal trade included the growth of crossborder capital flows, the recognition that some industries exposed to foreign competition may have strategic significance for the wider economy, and concerns over exploitation of workers in developing countries. Today’s bogus new condition, which is proving far more potent in political terms than any of the others, is the fact that international competition is now impinging on industries previously sheltered from it by the constraints of technology and geography.
    It is no longer just manufacturing that is feeling the pressure of toreign competition. It is no longer just dirty blue-collar jobs that are moving offshore. Jobs in services are now migrating as well, some of them requiring advanced skills, notably in computer programming. Services constitute much the larger part of every advanced economy. At the end of this process, what will be left? Gosh, Adam Smith never thought of this. Trade policy needs to be, completely rethought. Well, actually , no Gregory Mankiw, chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers , pointed out recently that if services can be sourced more cheaply overseas than at home, it is to America’s advantage to seize that opportunity. This simple restatement of the logic of liberal trade brought derision down on Mr. Mankiw’s head—and the supposedly pro-trade administration he works for conspicuously failed to defend the plain truth he had advanced. That was disturbing.
    The fact that foreign competition now impinges on services as well as manufacturing raises no new issues of principle whatever. If a car can be made more cheaply in Mexico, it should be. If a telephone enquiry can be processed more cheaply in India, it should be. All such transactions raise real incomes on both sides, as resources are advantageously redeployed, with added investment and growth in the exporting country, and lower prices in the importing country. Yes, trade is a positive-sum game. (Adam Smith did think of that.)
What seems to be the cause of periodical refreshments of protectionism?
选项 A、The periodical nature of the economic cycle.
B、The constant fluctuation of interest rate.
C、The instability in foreign exchange rate.
D、The inconsistency of businessmen and politicians.
答案D
解析 细节题。题干中的“periodical refreshments prolectionism”出自文章第二段(文中用的是protectionism is periodically refreshed and reinvented)。第一段提到，政客和商人都发誓遵守自由贸易的基本原则，但出现竞争时，他们又为了自己的利益而放弃自由贸易原则，第二段接着指出，这样一来，贸易保护主义就被周期性地复兴和重新利用。这说明，贸易保护主义周期性复兴的原因就是政客和商人的态度不一致。D符合题意，为正确选项。A、B和C都是对文意的误解。
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