Ana ɗaukar Birtaniya a matsayin tushen akidar laissez-faire da kuma kasa daya tilo da ta aiwatar da cinikayya ba tare da shinge ba. Ana kuma ɗaukarta a matsayin kasa daya tilo da ta bunkasa ba tare da ko kaɗan ba, ko kuma kadan, na shiga tsakanin gwamnati. Sai dai wannan ba shi ne gaskiya ba, domin Birtaniya ce kasa ta farko da ta kafa kariya ga masana'antun da ke tasowa. Wannan shi ne inda ake sanya shinge a gaban gasar kasashen waje don tabbatar da cewa kamfanonin cikin gida sun bunkasa ba tare da abokan gasa ba.

Britain is regarded as the fountain of laissez-faire doctrine and the only country to have practised free trade. Britain is regarded as the only nation to have developed with little or no state intervention. However, this cannot be further from the truth since Britain was the first country to establish infant industry protection. This is where obstacles are placed upon foreign competition to ensure domestic companies develop with no competitors.

A shekarar 1721, gyaran dokar kasuwanci da aka yi an taƙaita shi da Brisco, masanin tarihin tattalin arziki, a shekarar 1907 kamar haka:

The 1721 reform of the mercantile law was summed up by Brisco, an economic historian in 1907:

‘dole ne a kare masana'antu a cikin gida daga kayayyakin da aka gama a ƙasashen waje; dole ne a tabbatar da fitar da kayayyakin da aka gama ba tare da wani shinge ba; kuma idan hali ya yi, dole ne a ƙarfafa su ta hanyar kyauta da alawus.’38 Wannan na nufin an rage harajin shigo da kayan masarufi da ake sarrafawa, an kuma ƙara harajin kayayyakin masana'antu da ake shigowa da su daga ƙasashen waje sosai. Musamman ma, Biritaniya ta haramta shigo da kayayyaki masu inganci daga wasu daga cikin mulkokinta idan suka yi barazana ga masana'antun Biritaniya.

‘manufactures had to be protected at home from foreign finished products; free exportation of finished articles had to be secured; and where possible, encouragement had to be given by bounty and allowance.’38 This meant import duties on raw materials were lowered, duties on foreign manufactured goods were significantly raised. Specifically, Britain banned the imports of superior goods from some of its colonies if they happened to threaten British industries.

Babban sauyi na gaba ya zo a shekarar 1846 tare da soke Dokokin Masara (Corn Laws), waɗanda haraji ne na shigo da kaya da aka ce an ƙirƙire su ne don kare manoma da masu mallakar filaye na Birtaniya daga gasar hatsi mai arha da ake shigowa da shi daga ƙasashen waje. Amma an yi nufin wannan ne don dakatar da ci gaban masana'antu a nahiyar Turai ta hanyar faɗaɗa kasuwar fitar da kayan gona na Birtaniya. Jagorancin fasaha da Birtaniya ta samu, wanda ya ba ta damar canzawa zuwa tsarin cinikayya ba tare da shinge ba, an samu shi ne a bayan manyan shingayen haraji masu tsawo. Gabaɗayan sassauta tattalin arzikin Birtaniya lamari ne da gwamnati ta sa ido sosai a kansa, ba kuma ta hanyar tsarin barin kasuwa ba tare da katsalandan ba (laissez-faire) ba.

The next big change came in 1846 with the repeal of the Corn Laws, which were import tariffs ostensibly designed to protect British farmers and landowners against competition from cheap foreign grain imports. But this was intended to halt the move to industrialization on the continent by enlarging the export market for British agriculture. Britain’s technological lead that enabled the shift to a free trade regime had been achieved behind high and long lasting tariff barriers. The overall liberalisation of the British economy was a highly controlled affair overseen by the state and not achieved through a laissez-faire approach.

Tare da amfani da dabarun inganta masana'antu, Biritaniya, a lokacin da ta kai kololuwarta a shekara ta 1800, tana ta tafiya a teku tana neman arziki a fadin duniya. Wannan shirin mamaya mai tsanani ya tabbatar da matsayin Biritaniya a duniya, kuma ya canza yaƙe-yaƙe daga yaƙin neman yankuna zuwa yaƙin neman kasuwannin ketare. Wannan injin yaƙin mulkin mallaka ne ya tuƙa babban rabon binciken kimiyya na Biritaniya, da sabbin dabaru, da sabbin hanyoyin tsara aiki, da dabarun soja. Ƙimar 'yanci da ake yayatawa a matsayin tushen ci gaban Biritaniya ta zo ne bayan ta samu mamayar duniya. Sai bayan Biritaniya ta samu iko a duniya ne ta fara goyon bayan cinikayya kyauta, kuma hakan ya kasance domin ta samu damar shiga kasuwannin ƙasashen waje. Kasuwanni masu 'yanci tabbas sun zo ne bayan ci gaba, ba su zama abin da ya ƙaddamar da Daular Biritaniya ba.

With the use of industrial promotion strategies, Britain, when it reached its pinnacle in 1800, was navigating the seas in search of riches around the globe. This programme of aggressive colonisation entrenched Britain’s position in the world and changed battles from being fought for territories to offshore markets. It was this colonial war machine that drove a large chunk of Britain’s scientific research, innovation, new ways of organising labour and military strategy. The liberal values which are trumpeted as the source of Britain’s development arrived after achieving global domination. It was only after Britain achieved global supremacy that it championed free trade and this was to gain access to foreign markets. Free markets most certainly came after development rather than being the catalyst that launched the British Empire.

Haka ci gaban Amurka ma ya faru ta irin wannan hanya. Sai bayan Yakin Duniya na Biyu ne Amurka ta fara sassauta cinikayyarta, kuma dalilin hakan ya bayyana ta bakin Dr Joon Change, kwararre a tarihin tattalin arziki a Jami'ar Cambridge: "Sai bayan Yakin Duniya na Biyu ne Amurka – tare da kasancewarta babbar kasa a fannin masana'antu ba tare da wata kalubale ba – ta sassauta cinikayyarta a karshe, kuma ta fara goyon bayan batun cinikayya cikin 'yanci."

US development also occurred in a similar fashion. It wasn’t until after World War 2 that the US began to liberalise trade and the reasons for this was outlined by Dr Joon Change, an expert in economic history at Cambridge ‘it was only after World War 2 that the USA – with its industrial supremacy unchallenged - finally liberalized its trade and started championing the cause of free trade.

Da zarar kasashen Yamma sun kafa masana'antu masu karfi a bayan katanga na kariya, sukan fara kira ga cinikayya mara shinge, domin su kwashe matakala daga bayan wadanda ke biye da su, su kuma tabbatar da mulkinsu. Haka ya faru ga Birtaniya a tsakiyar karni na sha tara, wanda ya jagoranci yunkurin sassauta shinge a Turai. Kasar Amurka ta bi irin wannan tafarki shekara dari bayan haka.

Once Western countries establish industrial dominance behind protectionist walls, they tend to advocate free trade in order to kick away the ladder from the followers and consolidate their dominance as was certainly the case for Britain in the mid 19th century which led the liberalisation drive in Europe. The United States followed a similar path a hundred years later.