Who invented free trade?

Who invented free trade? Was it the British Economist David Ricardo (whose masterful explanation of the principles of comparative advantage has become a text book favourite for economic students ever since)? Well, Ricardo may have advocated free trade in theory but its origins in practice come from a more unlikely historical source. On a recent trip to Mongolia, the airport economist learnt that it was in fact the famous Mongolian war load Chinggis Khaan, who can in some way, claim to be the father of free trade.

read more