Progressives vs. Free Trade

I must say that I am saddened that it seems that progressives are adamantly against the idea of free trade entirely. As a self proclaimed progressive this doesn't sit well with me.

Free trade may be a misnomer in either what we're referring to or what we actually have but the idea of markets and trade is a very good idea that helps society progress. I take my opinions from a lot of different sources (Stiglitz, Krugman, Rodrik, Charles Derber) and I think we all have similar desires and share common threats.

Here's what I see, competition (honest and fair competition, that is) spurs innovation and lowers cost. That's a great thing. It also evolves our economy and pushes us out of certain labor markets. When a country develops and becomes more technologically advanced it usually prices itself out of the low income labor market. This is bad for unskilled laborers but good in the sense that we are "getting better" and becoming more profitable as a nation.

Here are the problems that I see:
1. LARGE corporations (not business in general) tend to dominate markets which may seem good if they are the best but it means competition isn't good enough. These corporations form effective monopolies (become "too big to fail") or share in an oligopoly. This stifles innovation and defeats the purpose of competition and markets offering lower prices. Not all large corporations do this but enough do that it's hurting our economy

2. Our shifting economy either creates large unemployment or protectionism. Neither of these are good for the economy or businesses in general. Businesses want the unemployment (cheaper labor for them) but don't realize that without any sort of unemployment job retraining they are getting less useful employees.

3. Politicians don't understand this problem, are unwilling to take a stand, or are summarily voted down so they match patchwork half ass accomplishments that are usually a mix of protectionism and bailouts.

We need a massive restructuring and maybe this economic crisis is the time to do it.