It has become commonplace to think that globalization has produced a race to the bottom in terms of labor standards and quality of life: the cheaper the labor and the lower the benefits afforded workers, the more competitively a country can participate on the global stage. But in this book the...

In War, Wine, and Taxes, John Nye debunks the myth that Britain was a free-trade nation during and after the industrial revolution, by revealing how the British used tariffs--notably on French wine--as a mercantilist tool to politically weaken France and to respond to pressure from local brewers...

Revolution -- America sails East -- Commerce in a world at war -- America's re-export boom -- Merchant millionaires -- Beyond the British empire -- The India trade -- America's China and Pacific trade -- Death of the India monopoly -- American capital and corporations