In yesterday’s entry, I worried about the false impression, to which many people are inclined, that a less-connected, more local world would be a happier, safer, stabler, more prosperous one. I’m not knocking idyllic little villages when you can find one (and still have access to supplies from outside when needed), but the Cato Institute’s Tom Palmer notes in this video (pointed out by Don Boudreaux) what happens when dreams of pleasant isolation take the all too common form of trade barriers and protectionism (on the rise now, at the worst possible time).
In short: the poor suffer most. And a vile curse be upon every anti-capitalist intellectual and protection-seeking businessman, politician, labor union, antiglobalization student activist, or Buchananite who has contributed to the problem.
But if that video’s simply too heavy for you, here, in a funny clip that’s an old classic by accelerated YouTube time-standards, are boxing cats — who, in keeping with our plans for a May 6 Lolita debate on animal welfare, can be seen as a reminder of callous human exploitation or as a reminder that animals are naturally a violent lot, with humans merely providing fascinated commentary from the sidelines most of the time.
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