Uingereza mara nyingi huchukuliwa kuwa chimbuko la mafundisho ya laissez-faire na nchi pekee iliyowahi kutekeleza biashara huria. Uingereza pia huchukuliwa kuwa taifa pekee lililoendelea kwa kuingiliwa kidogo sana au bila kuingiliwa kabisa na serikali. Hata hivyo, hili liko mbali sana na ukweli, kwani Uingereza ndiyo nchi ya kwanza kuanzisha ulinzi wa viwanda changa. Hii ni hali ambayo vikwazo huwekwa dhidi ya ushindani wa kigeni ili kuhakikisha kampuni za ndani zinakua bila washindani.

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.

Marekebisho ya sheria ya biashara ya mwaka 1721 yalifupishwa na Brisco, mwanahistoria wa uchumi, mwaka 1907:

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

‘bidhaa za viwandani ilibidi zilindwe nyumbani dhidi ya bidhaa zilizokamilika kutoka nje; usafirishaji huru wa bidhaa zilizokamilika ilibidi uhakikishwe; na pale inapowezekana, kutiwa moyo kupewa kwa zawadi na posho.’38 Hii ilimaanisha kwamba ushuru wa kuingiza malighafi ulipunguzwa, na ushuru wa bidhaa zilizotengenezwa nje ulipandishwa kwa kiasi kikubwa. Hasa, Uingereza ilipiga marufuku uagizaji wa bidhaa bora kutoka baadhi ya koloni zake pale zilipotishia viwanda vya Uingereza.

‘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.

Mabadiliko makubwa yaliyofuata yalikuja mwaka 1846 kwa kufutwa kwa Sheria za Nafaka (Corn Laws), ambazo zilikuwa ushuru wa kuagiza bidhaa kutoka nje uliotangazwa kuwa unalenga kuwalinda wakulima na wamiliki wa ardhi wa Uingereza dhidi ya ushindani wa nafaka za bei nafuu kutoka nje. Lakini lengo lake halisi lilikuwa kuzuia mwenendo wa viwanda barani Ulaya, kwa kupanua soko la mauzo ya kilimo cha Uingereza. Uongozi wa Uingereza katika teknolojia, ambao uliwezesha mabadiliko kuelekea mfumo wa biashara huria, ulikuwa umepatikana nyuma ya vizuizi vya juu na vya muda mrefu vya ushuru. Kwa ujumla, kuondolewa kwa vizuizi katika uchumi wa Uingereza kulikuwa jambo lililosimamiwa kwa kiwango kikubwa na serikali, wala halikufikiwa kwa mbinu ya laissez-faire.

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.

Kwa kutumia mikakati ya kukuza viwanda, Uingereza, ilipofikia kilele chake mwaka 1800, ilikuwa ikipitia bahari kutafuta utajiri kote duniani. Mpango huu wa ukoloni wa kishindo uliimarisha nafasi ya Uingereza duniani na kubadilisha vita kutoka vita vya kugombea maeneo ya ardhi kuwa vita vya kugombea masoko ya ng'ambo. Ni mashine hii ya kivita ya kikoloni iliyoendesha sehemu kubwa ya utafiti wa kisayansi wa Uingereza, uvumbuzi wake, njia mpya za kupanga kazi na mkakati wake wa kijeshi. Maadili ya kiliberali yanayotangazwa kuwa chanzo cha maendeleo ya Uingereza yalikuja baada ya kupata utawala wa dunia nzima. Ni baada tu ya Uingereza kupata ukuu wa dunia ndipo ilipoitetea biashara huria, na hii ilikuwa ili kupata ufikiaji wa masoko ya kigeni. Masoko huria hakika yalikuja baada ya maendeleo badala ya kuwa kichocheo kilichoanzisha Milki ya Uingereza.

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.

Maendeleo ya Marekani yalitokea kwa namna kama hiyo. Haikuwa hadi baada ya Vita vya Pili vya Dunia ambapo Marekani ilianza kuachilia biashara yake, na sababu za hili zilieleazwa na Dkt. Joon Chang, mtaalamu wa historia ya uchumi katika Chuo Kikuu cha Cambridge: "Ni baada tu ya Vita vya Pili vya Dunia ndipo Marekani – ikiwa na ubora wake wa viwanda usiopingwa – hatimaye iliachilia biashara yake na kuanza kutetea hoja ya biashara huru."

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.

Mara nchi za Magharibi zinapoanzisha utawala wa viwanda nyuma ya kuta za ulinzi wa biashara, huwa zinaanza kutetea biashara huria ili kuwaondoa wanaowafuata ngazi, na kuimarisha utawala wao. Hili lilikuwa hakika kwa Uingereza katikati ya karne ya 19, ambayo iliongoza mpango wa kuachilia biashara huko Ulaya. Marekani ilifuata njia kama hiyo miaka mia moja baadaye.

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.