THE TRADE LESSON

(A grand nineteenth-century villa on the shores of Lake Geneva, home to the Institute for the Advancement of Dictatorships. A wide lawn slopes gently down to the water. It is a bright spring afternoon. The Instructor has brought the students outside. The students sit on chairs arranged in a loose semicircle facing the lake. A small blackboard stands on the lawn. Three guest lecturers stand with the Instructor, in quiet conversation.)

(The Instructor nods to the lecturers and raises a finger. Silence ensues.)

INSTRUCTOR

Today we consider trade.
I have invited three guest lecturers.
Monsieur Colbert will begin.

COLBERT

(steps to the blackboard and draws a square.)

Trade is not about exchange.
It is an instrument.
It must be directed.

THE FIRST STUDENT

Trade serves the state.

COLBERT

Correct.
It strengthens it.
Or weakens it.
There is no neutrality.

THE OTHER STUDENTS

Trade is not neutral.

COLBERT

Indeed.
A state that imports more than it exports becomes dependent.
A dependent state is not sovereign.
We must export.
And we must limit what we take.

THE FIRST STUDENT

Monsieur Colbert, how interesting.
But might not both sides gain?

(A murmur among the other students.)

INSTRUCTOR

Silence.

(turning to Ricardo)

Mr Ricardo, if you may.

RICARDO

(steps to the blackboard and wipes the square with his sleeve, leaving it blurred.)

A sovereign economy need not be closed.
A prospering one never is.

THE OTHER STUDENTS

Why?

THE FIRST STUDENT

Because both sides receive more than they give.

COLBERT

(mumbling.)

Impossible.

RICARDO

I understand your concern, Monsieur Colbert.
But different nations have different strengths.

THE OTHER STUDENTS

Strengths.

RICARDO

Each prospers by doing what it does best.
And by trading for the rest.

COLBERT

But what of precious metals?

THE FIRST STUDENT

I do not see why a nation’s wealth should depend on its gold.

(Napoleon steps forward. All turn to him.)

NAPOLEON

A nation’s prosperity lies in its power.

COLBERT

Just so.

RICARDO

Prosperity is not power.
It is what people have,
and what they can enjoy.

THE OTHER STUDENTS

Power?
Possessions?
Pleasure?

THE FIRST STUDENT

Might one have all three?

NAPOLEON

I sought all three.

RICARDO

But consider where it led you.

NAPOLEON

You mean to Lake Geneva?

RICARDO

I mean St. Helena.

NAPOLEON

I seem to remember a Betsy.
The rest is less distinct.

COLBERT

(quietly.)

A tragedy.

NAPOLEON

I remember nothing tragic.
I remember Austerlitz, Jena, Wagram, and the Continental System.

COLBERT

The Continental System was mercantilism at its most refined.
Thank you, Majesty.

RICARDO

You closed the continent to British goods.
People paid more and had less.

NAPOLEON

They had power.
At least before…
When was that again…?
And where?
I remember something about water.

THE FIRST STUDENT

… loo.
It was all washed away.

(Napoleon retreats.)

RICARDO

He was defeated, and with him the Continental System, and with it the last remnants of Monsieur Colbert’s mercantilism.
Only when trade is free does each side gain from the other. Only then are all better off.

COLBERT

Who cares for all?

THE OTHER STUDENTS

We do not.

THE FIRST STUDENT

I do.

(The Instructor scratches his head.)

RICARDO

I am pleased to hear it.

THE FIRST STUDENT

Thank you, sir.
If both sides gain from trade,
neither can refuse it.

RICARDO

Yes.

THE FIRST STUDENT

But if one side is stronger,
it may set the terms.

RICARDO

How so?

THE FIRST STUDENT

It offers terms the other cannot refuse. Then trade remains. But the gain accrues to the one who sets the terms.

NAPOLEON

(turning around, eyeing the grand villa)

A remarkable institute.
The future is in good hands.