Liberty Alone

Progressive Vision tells me that on this day in 1849 the Corn Laws were abolished in the United Kingdom.

The culmination of a great campaign by the Anti-Corn Law League led by the great radical Richard Cobden, this directly led to the splitting of the Tories and the later creation of the Liberal Party. It was at this point Gladstone left the Tories after siding with Peel over the reforms, against the protectionist Tories like Disraeli.

The effect of repeal was to greatly reduce the price of corn, making more food available to the poor and creating greater disposable income for all. It also spurred on the international division of labour causing a decline in British corn growing, but freeing that labour to fuel the industrial revolution and the great advances in living standards that has brought about.

Today we now have the Common Agricultural Policy and well meaning leftists calling for tariffs and protectionism for various reasons ranging from helping the poor (those who benefited from the repeal of the Corn Laws would rightly disagree) to protecting the environment. Free trade is seen as right wing and as benefiting corporations at the expense of individuals when the opposite is true.

We should remember that it was the Radicals who pushed for free trade, not the propertied classes. It was a left wing movement, the right opposed it. The left should celebrate free trade and push for all trade barriers, subsidies and tariffs to be dropped.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.