A Stream of Windows : Unsettling Reflections on Trade, Immigration, & Democracy

Jagish Bhagwati firmly believes that those who work at the frontiers of economics should also get down into the trenches of public policy in the only way they can: through advocacy. His frequent writings in newspapers and magazines are further testimony to his conviction that academics can best do public good by becoming a public nuisance. Running through his writings is the contrary voice, questioning popular positions, challenging the consensus. Bhagwati has an agenda to advance, a vision of the good society that economic policy must help to shape. The good society he has sought over the years is one whose economics embrace openness, in particular in trade and immigration, and whose politics are democratic, not just for the elite few but with the effective participation of the many, including women and minorities. This text offers a selection of the author's policy writings from the 1990s. The title, from a James Schuyler poem, suggests the fluidity of a stream, contrasted with a stagnant pool, as well as the windows the author seeks to open to bring in fresh air. The image captures the essence of the author's writings, which oppossed the demonization of Japan in the 1980s and early 1990s, and which aims to expose the folly of current U.S. policy equating free trade with free trade areas, challenge the bipartisan bashing of illegal immigrants, refute the conventional view that democracy hinders development, and other issues.