Moreover, Mr Bush has a Reaganesque ability to change direction while claiming that he is sticking to principles: look at his deviations from free-market orthodoxy over agriculture and coal and steel, or his current volte-face in Iraq, during which he dramatically modified American policy.

ECONOMIST: The Reagan legacy

And the market in agriculture remains far from free.

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The editorial points out that not all agriculture will be uncompetitive under free trade.

FORBES: Yomiuri's New Year's Editorial

In India the agriculture sector gets water nearly free of cost.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The incident was not only in accordance with the school policy, but that policy was in direct response to incentives provided by the Obama Administration, through regulations issued by the Department of Agriculture under the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act signed by President Obama in December 2010.

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We live in a world of reasonably free trade in most things and total protectionism in agriculture, which is devastating to a lot of developing countries.

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The latest rough patch for the North American Free Trade Agreement has been the resistance of Mexican agriculture--especially poultry ranchers--to a New Year's wipeout of tariff protections against U.S. agricultural exports.

FORBES: Not seeing red

Mr Metcalfe is a modest writer who pays due homage to long-forgotten predecessors such as Ella Maillart, a free-spirited Swiss sportswoman who chronicled the savage collectivisation of Karakalpak agriculture in the early 1930s.

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Long term, such free trade agreements hold great promise for spurring increased competitiveness, including in sectors like agriculture, now largely zombified by decades of government protection.

FORBES: Connect