Brexit may suffer from the most uniquely invertedpublic perception in modern international affairs. The British referendum to leave the European Union – the most successful rebellion against global governanceto date – is depicted as a racist and xenophobic retreat into an isolated and atomized existence.In fact, it is only Brexit that allows the UK to leave behind Brussels’ schedule ofsubsidies and tariffs that deny developing nations access to the world’s largest market,setting millions on a path to independence and self-sufficiency....

In the wake of the last presidential election, the American people appear to be fracturing and shifting on the long-held consensus about the benefits of free trade. Meanwhile, state-owned television in the People’s Republic of China is churning out pro-trade propaganda such as this (HT Pethokoukis): Yet the underlying irony is a bit overstated, I’d suspect. According to AEI’s Dan Blumenthal and Derek Scissors, China’s One Belt One Road initiative aims to “create a network of infrastructure projects linking itself...