Advocates of aggressive government intervention in the name of fighting climate change have posed as the defenders of “consensus science,” labeling any who dissent from their agenda as “deniers” with all of the baggage that term entails. And yet, as I’ve been pointing out for years, the peer-reviewed economics literature does not support the popular United Nations’ policy goals, of limiting global warming to either 2.0°C or the even more stringent ceiling of 1.5°C.

[Adapted from Man, Economy and State with Power and Market, pp. 851–55.]

I live in exactly the right location to see the outcome of a grand experiment. The pilot Walmart Supercenter is located in Dallas, Georgia. So am I.

On Friday the 13th, the CEO of Walmart cut the ribbon at the grand opening. Sadly, I only learned about this grand opening on the morning of September 14. There had been no publicity while the store was being remodeled over the last 12 months.

So, what you are about to read is based on original research conducted on the cheap on the afternoon of September 14.

The founders of classical economics, namely David Hume (1711-1776), Adam Smith (1723-1790), and David Ricardo (1772-1823) and their British followers were fervent advocates of the principle of free trade between nations. Even more so were J.-B. Say (1767-1832), Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) and their Continental disciples of the liberal school (who for simplicity I will broadly classify as classical economists because of their link to Adam Smith). Despite their devotion to free trade, the classical economists were nationalists.