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Title: Simple, Elegant and Wrong
Review: Roberts' little fable pits a wholly benign free-trade against absolute protectionism and guess which one looks better. Based on the theories of David Ricardo, the fable assumes that every worker in the world is always treated fairly and every boss is kind and responsible. In The Choice there are no sweat shops and no corrupt CEOs. Fables like The Choice (or the "free-market economy" for that matter) are easy to believe because we want the world to be that simple. That's why the book is dangerous. The Choice has almost nothing to do with the real world, but it sounds good. The argument is so seamless that it appears almost unassailable. If you buy Roberts' version of Ricardo, however, you must accept Wal-Mart as the epitome of business virtue.Roberts may be a great guy, and he certainly writes well. Unfortunately, his book begins with a series of fallacious premises and works its way toward a conclusion that is simple, elegant, and horribly wrong.
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