The Core Idea of the WTO

The core concept of the WTO is that member states cannot discriminate against trade from other member states. This concept was originally written into the United States Constitution in Article 1, Section 8 in 1787. This concept is called the Dormant Commerce Clause doctrine.

In 1787, the United States had recently gained independence from Great Britain, but was more like an alliance of 13 separate countries than one nation. Each state passed laws to favor their own farmers and merchants. They printed their own paper money. The result was recession and inflation. In large part the U.S. Constitution was adopted to solve these problems.

It is also important to remember the Adam Smith had just published his best seller "The Wealth of Nations" in April of 1776, in which he called the free market economic system he promoted a "system of liberty." Smith's point was that truly free markets are self-organizing systems based on the voluntary agreement of its participants.

In 1787, it was Smith's personal friend and Benjamin Franklin, who presided over the constitutional convention. While in London two decades earlier, Franklin read Smith's drafts and made suggestions as Smith worked on "The Wealth of Nations." All of the founding fathers were familiar with Smith's ideas as they met in Philadelphia to draft a new constitution. Thus, the "Commerce Clause" of the Constitution, in connection with Art. VI, "The Supremacy Clause" were designed to ensure that there would be only one free market among all of the states and prohibit discrimination by one state against another.

The WTO has many exceptions to this non-discrimination rule, and different nations at different stages of development are allowed certain exceptions to this rule. In other words, the WTO is still far from perfect in guaranteeing a lack of discrimination between member states. But, a lack of discrimination is the ultimate goal.

Consider the implications to authoritarian governmental control as this rule becomes more perfectly implemented. If a government loses control over the economic decisions of its citizens, it has given up a considerable amount of its control. What would be the effect to an authoritarian regime, which cannot tell its citizen were they can work, what jobs they will take, where they will be educated, what products they will consume, or what information they will read?

		February 27, 2005 *The Core Idea of the WTO*
	The core concept of the WTO is that member states cannot discriminate against trade from other member states. This concept was originally written into the United States Constitution in Article 1, Section 8 in 1787. This concept is called the Dormant Commerce Clause doctrine. In 1787, the United States had recently gained independence from Great Britain, but was more like an alliance of 13 separate countries than one nation. Each state passed laws to favor their own farmers and merchants. They printed their own paper money. The result was recession and inflation. In large part the U.S. Constitution was adopted to solve these problems. It is also important to remember the Adam Smith had just published his best seller "The Wealth of Nations" in April of 1776, in which he called the free market economic system he promoted a "system of liberty." Smith's point was that truly free markets are self-organizing systems based on the voluntary agreement of its participants. In 1787, it was Smith's personal friend and Benjamin Franklin, who presided over the constitutional convention. While in London two decades earlier, Franklin read Smith's drafts and made suggestions as Smith worked on "The Wealth of Nations." All of the founding fathers were familiar with Smith's ideas as they met in Philadelphia to draft a new constitution. Thus, the "Commerce Clause" of the Constitution, in connection with Art. VI, "The Supremacy Clause" were designed to ensure that there would be only one free market among all of the states and prohibit discrimination by one state against another. The WTO has many exceptions to this non-discrimination rule, and different nations at different stages of development are allowed certain exceptions to this rule. In other words, the WTO is still far from perfect in guaranteeing a lack of discrimination between member states. But, a lack of discrimination is the ultimate goal. Consider the implications to authoritarian governmental control as this rule becomes more perfectly implemented. If a government loses control over the economic decisions of its citizens, it has given up a considerable amount of its control. What would be the effect to an authoritarian regime, which cannot tell its citizen were they can work, what jobs they will take, where they will be educated, what products they will consume, or what information they will read?