Zach Du, Chapter 12, Question 6

The part in Chapter 12 which talks about how trade makes us richer really caught my attention. Wheelan uses a fallacy of Abraham Lincoln to start off the topic: "It seems to me that if we buy the tails from England, then we've got the rails and they've got the money. But if we build the rails here, we've got our rails and we've got our money" (273). However, Mr. Lincoln made some flaws in his statements. If I want to buy vegetables from the farmer, then I will pay the money and get my vegetables in return, everybody benefits; whereas, I buy the seed and grow the vegetable by myself, which would takes so much longer to get what I need, even if I keep the money. In conclusion, "We trade with others because it frees up time and resources to do things that we are better at" (274).