Because they have the same economically-destructive effects as protectionist tariffs. Abraham Lincoln’s original battle plan was called “The Anaconda Plan” because its goal was to strangle the economy of the South by blocking international trade. The only difference is that with protectionist tariffs we do to ourselves in peacetime what our enemies try to do to us in wartime: Harm us by blocking valued imports from other countries. Protectionist tariffs are the quintessential anti-populist, monopolistic policy because they are the result of a price-fixing conspiracy between small groups of greedy, rent-seeking corporations (with the help of their unions) and pandering … Continue reading →
Source: Why Blockades are Weapons of War – LRC Blog