The Tariff Debate: Are They Always a Bad Idea? + Mental Models to Understand the World
The Tariff Tirade
Tariffs—taxes on imports—have long been a powerful tool in economic policy, shaping global trade for centuries. But are they always harmful, or can they serve a strategic purpose?
In this episode, we trace the history of tariffs from the British East India Company to modern trade disputes between the U.S., China, India, and Europe. William Dalrymple, in The Anarchy, writes about how Britain used tariffs to cripple India’s textile industry while strengthening its own, showing how trade policy can be a tool of both economic growth and exploitation.
The debate is complex: tariffs can protect domestic industries and address unfair trade practices, but they can also raise consumer prices, stifle innovation, and provoke retaliation. Are there cases where tariffs have strengthened national economies, or do they always come at a cost?
Join us as we explore the pros and cons of tariffs, their historical impact, and whether they still have a place in today’s interconnected world.
There are psychologists, sociologists and political scientists who are trying to study and make sense of the rising disillusionment globally. There is a growing GenZ Internet sub-culture that embraces the idea of being ‘delulu’ and accepts disarray as a natural state of affairs. While this might seem novel and uncharted, if you speak to a historian you will realise that is now new. This is not the first time that we also a collective are going through a period of rapid change and uncertainty.
Historians go as far to argue that this era saw the development of a homogeneous culture that drove artistic tastes across nations. There are even documented correspondences between individuals across nations discussing inter-marriages and what amounts to ancient futures contracts. That such a thriving, refined set of superpowers saw centuries unwound in decades, is a unique allegory to today’s backdrop of climate-change-led instability, de-globalization and declining political & commercial predictability in a globalized setting.
