Steve Bannon tells us all that the American system was based on economic protectionism — Hey, it worked in the 19th century so it would work now, right? It’s an appealing contention with only one problem – it’s wrong.

If protectionism worked as an economic policy, then the entirely blockaded South would have boomed during the Civil War. But that’s not quite how we recollect things. Cuba would be vastly rich as it is entirely protected from competition by the hegemons of the United States. Simple observation tells us that there must be something more to it all than that.