When are people free to choose their economic course?

Don Boudreaux says free trade is civilized because it maximizes the ability of people to choose their economic course while protectionism is barbarous because it uses coercion either to impose conditions on or to restrict altogether choices. His letter is a response to a student who thinks that protectionism lets people choose their economic course.

When Boudreaux speaks of people, he means individuals. To him, "letting the people choose" means letting each individual choose freely without interference from other people. He states that, to the student, "letting the people choose" means letting today's majority of voters impose restrictions on how they and the minority conduct their economic affairs."