In case it isn't apparent from the responses, your question is ambiguous. In what way do you see free trade as comparable to a free lunch? I grow apples and sell them at the town market. You grow oranges and sell them at the town market. The town charges both of us for the privilege of having a booth at the market. But because you and I are are neighbors, we decide to sell to each other at just retail cost, without any overhead for the privilege of buying/selling. Obviously oversimplified, but the point is: where are you seeing there is a free lunch?
yes good point. Trade is never free. there is always a cost that someone has to pay. 2 merchants exchanging goods(in the same country) who do not force the government to check for diseases and such like, do not use oil to polute the country side putting cost on government to move the goods around etc... clean green non polluting growers/producers have no issues(e.g do they pay for the labour regulation government department?etc etc etc...) however, when you start to add farm subsidies, import export tarrifs, taxes, quality inspection and border security... all demands made on the government, the trade is not free. it must be paid for by someone. should the growers be billed directly for all those costs ? most would not wish to participate in that discussion and attempt to twist the topic and change the meaning and the terms of referance. who should pay for the ongoing cost to employ the border security/import/export government people who make sure nasty bugs and bad goods do not come into the country ? policing of brands and copywrights ? is that free ? no ! out sourcing production then expecting to use the government funds to pay for policing of your brand and product while not paying import tax while others who make the same product have to pay for local labour costs of the market to which you use the protection of ... should there be any government quality inspection department ? who pays for them ? the term "free trade" seems to be inaccurate.
Free lunch vs free trade... This appears to be two different meanings of the word free, and as such are totally unrelated.
That's seems pretty obvious to me. Free as in "no cost" vs. Free as in "unrestricted". Obvious enough that I assumed the OP was made in jest.
