John Maynard Keynes admonished in one of his writings, maybe that opaque General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, “let our goods be homespun.” Lest anyone think that the notion that there is economic virtue in disdaining trade with foreigners is just for Keynesians, consider California’s “Locavore” cult, discussed here. These people think it’s best to eat only locally produced food, so they won’t buy items produced more than 100 miles away. Seems like a harmless bit of silliness, but would it be a terrible surprise if one day it becomes law? Just as we now have Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulation, which is supposed to determine gasoline efficiency, perhaps California will one day have a similar law for food consumption, requiring people to prove that on average, they consume foods produced within 100 miles (and why not 50? or 10?) of home. If you want some Chilean grapes, you’d have to balance that with a lot of backyard cucumbers and tomatoes. And just think of the employment opportunities in the new bureaucracy that would be required to monitor and enforce this beneficial rule!