During the explosive economic growth of the ’90s, it was easy to see a rising tide lifting all boats. Yes, anti-globalization protestors marched on Seattle. But most Americans bought the free trade formula: let each nation do what it does best, and all will prosper.

Fast-forward to 2003 and there’s some wavering in the air. If everyone from IBM to textile mills ships jobs overseas, what is left for American workers? If jobs chase low wages, does everyone end up poor?

It’s time to fire up the conversation again, as American politics head into a campaign year that is sure to revisit free trade and fair trade and all the messiness in between.

Click the “Listen” link to hear about who is writing the rules in Cancun, Mexico, and what it means to American prosperity.

Guests:

Jagdish Bhagwati, Professor of Economics and Political Science at Columbia University, Senior Fellow in International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, and former Economic Policy Advisor to Director-General of GATT (1991-1993)

Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and co-author of “The Scorecard on Globalization: Twenty Years of Diminished Progress.”