why is protectionism bad for the economy?

Question

why aren't protectionist barriers the appropriate remedy for countries like Italy to defend themselves from the Chinese economic rise?

Answer 1

The math is complicated but in short, for every dollar, or in the case of Italy Euro protected, it will cost that economy (1+x) where x>0 usually many times the protected amount. Any distortion from free choice is harmful. Someone has to pay the protection amount, there isn't a case where it works out for the better. You can only defend yourself by being more competitive. Anything else is self-distructive over time.

Answer 2

Protectionism is bad for every economy. This is because it serves to protect ineffective, inefficient and unproductive industries and businesses, thus wasting huge resources and steal the market of its right to get high quality products and services.
In a free market, the strong will vanquish the weak. But that doesn't necessarily mean the government should do just that. The government can sponsor training and development program so that everyone can attend and profit from it by improving themselves. This gives the small and weak businesses to find the alternatives to improve themselves, find a niche market, and continue to profit and bring progress to the nation. In a free market, small and weak businesses can still progress if the system is right. Then this particular economy will be the most dynamic and competitive the world has ever seen. To tell the truth, such market hasn't exist yet. US is not the one.

Answer 3

It's bad for the economy, because those countries can apply
the same measures against the countries taking action. Italy
can try to do that, but China can do the same thing as retaliation.
Protectionism is bad because it creates artificially high price levels, and doesn't promote free market competition, where the strongest will survive. Protectionism is a crutch for weak competitors to use against stronger competition.