Protectionism is a vibe, not an argument. Its exponents hold a series of positions that are more esthetic than empirical. They don’t like cheap goods. They don’t like the corporate suits whom they imagine to be the beneficiaries of globalization. They do like horny-handed sons of toil in coal mines and steel mills — or, at least, they admire them from the outside. They themselves have little ambition to do such jobs, being, in most cases, lobbyists, politicians, or corporate attorneys à la Robert Lighthizer.

Can I be so glib in dismissing the intellectual arguments for protectionism? Yes. Their lack of internal coherence should disqualify their advocates from being taken seriously. Supporters of tariffs make a series of claims that are not only false but are logically incompatible with one another.