Why do Americans have mass hysteria against protectionism?
Yep, a lot of mass hysteria in the answers above. They’re ignoring the entire history of the USA before 1913. As if it doesn’t even exist. Probably it’s because most people never really learn the history of the Industrial Revolution and our economic existence in the Nineteenth Century. Americans grew so complacent and ignorant because of the prosperity of the 1960’s and early 70’s. They never had to work hard or question how a business can make a profit and pay their wages. They just trotted home with their fat paychecks and bought a bigger color TV set. Consumerism has made people forget where their wages come from. All they care about is getting a cheaper price at Wal-mart. Even if it costs all our jobs. It’s sad. People are paranoid about protectionism just because of the Smoot Hawley tariff of 1930. That one failed because we were the industrial superpower of the world by then. We were an exporter nation, and only importer nations should have protectionism. We are an importer natio
