Domestic Dumping

If trading across national boundaries were carried on by individuals, the question of dumping would seldom arise. If a British woolen manufacturer, for example, offered to sell woolens to an American importer at a price below his cost of production, the American im porter would, if he gave it any thought, merely think of it as his good fortune. But if the British government bought up British wool ens and sold them in this country at prices which our manufacturers thought were below the British production costs, an international incident would arise.N ot that it is possible to know the costs of production in Britain or anywhere else; they differ from mill to mill. Domestic Dumping Dumping is a process that goes on domestically all the time, and it will occur in trade between nations as long as there is trade. When dumping involves only individ ual producers, we can be sure that it can't last long; the producer will soon have to change his ways or go out of business. While it lasts, it works to the advantage of the consumer, and he may as well ,get what benefits he can from it at the expense of the producer who chooses 58 to use up his resources in that way. Charity is a form of dumping in that the donor disposes of his property at less than his "cost of production." Should charity be prohibited?