Free trade in moral hypocrisy [feedly]

I sympathize with the outrage at phonies about the losers in trade, but the article is ruined for me by the abuse of the term "neoliberalism", which, I submit means absolutely nothing except on left left pubs where it is just a fig leaf for not having to say the word "capitalism" too many times. What is a Non-neo-liberal position on trade, for example?

Jeff Faux: EPI:  Free trade in moral hypocrisy

http://www.epi.org/blog/free-trade-in-moral-hypocrisy/

A version of this article appeared in the Globalist.

U.S. trade policy of the last 20 years, if not dead, is on life- support. The economic case for the series of neoliberal trade deals since the North American Free Trade Agreement has collapsed in the wake of job losses, lower wages and shrinking opportunities for American workers. Voters are hostile, and both candidates for President oppose the latest proposed trade pact—the Trans Pacific Partnership.

But neoliberal trade deals have brought enormous profits to America's multinational corporate investors. So, big business lobbyists and their champions in the Congress and the Administration are organizing to pass the TPP in the post-election lame duck session—regardless of who wins the election.

With their economic arguments discredited, they are now draping these trade and investment pacts with a mantle of moral superiority. American workers who complain are now told that they should be ashamed of themselves. Why? Because off-shoring their jobs helps workers in other counties who are even poorer.

Paul Krugman tells his New York Times readers that they should support "open world markets…mainly because market access is so important to poor countries."

Read more

 -- via my feedly newsfeed