Governmental Intervention in the United States

Infant Industry Argument in the International Business Landscape

Definition of Infant Industry Argument in the context of U.S. international business and public trade policy: Argument in favor of governmental intervention in trade: a nation should protect fledgling industries for which the nation will ultimately possess a comparative advantage.

Constitutional Principle of Limited Government

The principle of limited government holds that no government is all-powerful, that a government may do only those things that the people have given it the power to do.

In effect, the principle of limited government is the other side of the coin of popular sovereignty. It is that principle stated the other way around: The people are the only source of any and all of government’s authority; and government has only that authority the people have given to it.

The concept of limited government can be expressed another way: Government must obey the law. Stated this way, the principle is often called constitutionalism –that is, that government must be conducted according to constitutional principles. The concept of limited government is also described as the rule of law, which holds that government and its officers are always subject to-never above-the law.

In large part, the Constitution is a statement of limited government. Much of it reads as clear prohibitions of power to government. 1 For example, notice the Constitution’s guarantees of freedom of expression. Those great guarantees-of freedom of religion, of speech, of press, of assembly, and of petition-are vital to democratic government. They are set out in the First Amendment, which begins with the words: “Congress shall make no law…”