Economists have had an enormous impact on trade policy, and they provide a strong rationale for free trade and for removal of trade barriers. Although the objective of a trade agreement is to liberalize trade, the actual provisions are heavily shaped by domestic and international political realities. The world has changed enormously from the time when David Ricardo proposed the law of comparative advantage, and in recent decades economists have modified their theories to account for trade in factors of production, such as capital and labor, the growth of supply chains that today dominate much of world trade, and the success of neomercantilist countries in achieving rapid growth.
In general, World War II greatly aided in the spread of communism because the one of the three main victorious allies was Russia, meaning that much of the post-war landscape was at their disposal.
Authoritarian states rose in Eastern Europe because they were small new countries without capitol t develop industry. Haves and Have-nots and most did not have experience with democracy.
