Pat Buchanan is a hard-line social conservative candidate for the U.S. presidency. Buchanan's campaign emphasizes a no-compromise stance on controversial issues such as abortion, illegal immigration, and protectionist trade barriers. Although fellow Republican candidate Bob Dole has clinched the party nomination for president, Buchanan placed a respectable third behind the well-financed campaign of Steve Forbes. The resiliency of support for Buchanan's rhetoric has raised concern among high-ranking Republicans, particularly in light of the approaching GOP Convention in San Diego, where Buchanan could exert a critical influence on the party's campaign platform.
Economic nationalism is the theme of Buchanan's bid for the presidency; his motto is "America first." Essentially, Buchanan advocates returning to the types of economic policies that existed before World War II. He believes that Americans should tax or discourage foreign imports by reconstructing tariff barriers.
For instance, Buchanan has proposed a 10 percent tariff on Japanese imports and a 20 percent tariff on Chinese imports. Tariffs would punish these and other "economically aggressive" countries for dumping their products in the United States and would discourage them from engaging in these practices in the future. Buchanan reasons that the money generated from such tariffs would amount to over $20 billion annually. This revenue could be used to eliminate taxes on small businesses, thus further stimulating the U.S. economy.
Most economists concede that protectionism is necessary for developing countries: "No national economy has taken off under conditions of free trade" (Cockbum 21). Although protectionism appears to work for developing countries, most economists contend that it would prove disastrous for a developed country like the United States. As one economist notes, Buchanan's proposed tariffs on foreign imports "ignores an immutable law of e...