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Can Fair Trade End Poverty?
Can Fair Trade End Poverty?
Jan 17, 2026 6:18 PM

Which does a better job helping the impoverished peoplearound the globe—free trade or fair trade? The American Enterprise Institute recently held a debate on that topic at John Brown Universityentitled “Free Trade vs. Fair Trade: What Helps the Poor?” Click here to watch the debate between scholars Claude Barfield, Paul Myers, and Victor Claar.

In the debate Dr. Claar raises concerns about both the logic and economic reasoning underlying the fair trade movement. He also expands on that theme in his recent monograph, “Fair Trade? Its Prospects as a Poverty Solution”, the latest volume in the Acton Institute’s Christian Social Thought Series.

Related: On April 11, Dr. Claar will be visitingActon on Tap to deliver a talk on “Envy: Socialism’s Deadly Sin.”To learn more about Acton on Tap and other Acton sponsored lectures, visit our events page.

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