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Left-Wing Free Trade

On this episode of American Prestige, Marc-William Palen on the advent of liberal radicalism and anti-slavery trade policies

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

July 2, 2024

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Left-Wing Free Trade w/ Marc-William Palen | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek speak welcome to the program Marc-William Palen, senior lecturer in history at the University of Exeter, for a discussion on his book Pax Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free Trade World. They delve into 19th century liberal radicalism and anti-slavery trade policies, how Marx and early socialists approached free trade, the role of consumption, where feminists and christian pacifists fell on the matter, the advent of neoliberalism, “free” vs “preferrred” trade, and more.

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On this episode of American Prestige, we welcome to the program Marc-William Palen, senior lecturer in history at the University of Exeter, for a discussion on his book Pax Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free Trade World. We delve into 19th-century liberal radicalism and anti-slavery trade policies, how Marx and early socialists approached free trade, the role of consumption, where feminists and Christian pacifists fell on the matter, the advent of neoliberalism, “free” versus “preferred” trade, and more.

The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

US Resumes Iran War, DRC Ebola Outbreak Surges, Burnham Becomes UK PM / American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Canada’s wildfires rage on, so Danny and Derek are here to be your breath of fresh air. This week’s news: In Iran, the US reimposes its blockade and intensifies strikes (2:04), Trump announces and then backs off a Hormuz toll (5:44), and the White House issues threats of further escalation (9:17); in Yemen, the Houthis/Ansar Allah and Saudi Arabia trade strikes (13:37) as the former might become involved in the Iran war (16:28); Lebanese-Israeli talks talks wrap up, but progress is uncertain (17:45); in Israel, a date is set for an election (19:18), plus the ethnic cleansing in Gaza is given a new euphemism (21:15); Southeast Asian countries appear to normalize relations with Myanmar (22:23); the US touts a “new” peace plan for Sudan (24:13); the Ebola outbreak in the DRC continues and may be much larger than official figures suggest (26:35); Zelenskyy replaces Ukraine’s prime minister and defense minister (29:43); Andy Burnham is to become the UK’s PM (33:32), plus a UK-EU deal on Gibraltar is reached (35:22); Marco Rubio is reportedly running Venezuela as a US viceroy (36:34); the US is attempting to destroy the ICC (38:35) as it also takes aim at “left-wing terrorism” (41:23); and a Pew poll finds China more popular than the US for the first time (43:01).

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Daniel BessnerTwitterDaniel Bessner is an historian of US foreign relations, and cohost of American Prestige, a podcast on international affairs.


Derek DavisonDerek Davison is a writer and analyst specializing in international affairs and US foreign policy. He is the publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter, cohost of the American Prestige podcast, and former editor of LobeLog.


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