While touring a Boeing factory today in South Carolina, Trump exclaimed that "[w]hen there is a level playing field, and I've been saying this for a long time, American workers will always, always, always win" ("President Donald Trump Praises Boeing, Suggests More Plane Purchases Coming," Feb. 17).

It's distressing that a U.S. president regularly spews such economic nonsense.

First, as Adam Smith made clear, the ultimate measure of the success of trade is not how many jobs it creates or how many domestic businesses it profits but, rather, how much it allows ordinary men and women to consume.  To see the truth of Smith's point, ask: would you prefer to live in an economy in which everyone works long and hard but gets in return only an always-skimpy handful of goods and services for consumption, or in an economy in which relatively little work is required in order to afford everyone access to an ever-growing abundance of goods and services for consumption?  If you chose the latter, then you correctly understand that Trump errs in focusing on jobs (which are a means); he should instead focus on access to goods and services (which is the end).