If there were no trade barriers and conflicts on this world, what would be the standard of living in the USA?

Question

If there were no trade barriers and conflicts on this world, what would be the standard of living in the USA?

Answer 1

I'm not sure it would be all that bad.  No wars doesn't mean no weapons/arms industry, it just means no use for the goods produced by the industry (which is just fine if you ask me).  Since people like to feel safe, I'm sure the United States would still spend a bit on national defense and whatnot.  With no trade barriers the lower class an uneducated people in the U.S. would be in for a rough time, but everyone else would benefit.  Yes, we may lose some lower paying jobs, but we would gain so much from free trade.  Free trade would provide cheaper goods and forces people in the United States to get better educations and innovate so they can stay ahead of or compete with the rest of the world.  Sadly people don't understand the benefits of free trade, so it will never happen, but the day it does will be a great day for everyone involved!

Answer 2

Much lower than it is , no conflicts = no arms industry [ bad news for U.S. ], no trade barriers = a flood of cheaper goods into U.S. [ sounds good till unemployment rockets as U.S. workers could never compete on an equal footing with low-wage countries ].