To supporters of a "free market," protectionism is a dirty word that brings back memories of the old world before Globalization.
But with Governments in the Western World, Nationalizing or bailing out key industries, it is obvious they cannot survive without some form of Market protection.
Without some form of protection, these industries will fail because competitors will either cut prices, and have already proved their products are better than any products made by nationalized Industries, solely because they are still surviving.
To justify these bailouts, and save the precious jobs in many of these industries, governments will have to give some kind of incentive to consumers to buy from these industries.
If it's a price incentive, then competitors who import into the country, could face restrictions.
Governments themselves may stop purchasing products made overseas, and buy them from the newly Nationalized State industries.
This is a form ofindirect protectionism, which even before the markets crashed key private Industries in most Countries depended on.
One example is the German government that in public was against protectionism, but only bought German made Cars and products.
The Japanese government always preferred to buy products from their own Industries, rather then from overseas Companies.
China to some degree has always protected the Countries key industries, so has the European Union in a form of grants and subsidizes, mainly awarded to now insolvent Corporations within Europe.
So in essence, it is a fallacy for many Countries to complain against Governments, purchasing their own national products.
Buying National products could be perceived as Nationalistic, although consumers have usually bought on price.
In the USA, the engine of the global economy, was the consumer credit boom.
Most key national industries relocated, and existed only in name in the USA.
This may have been, why the recession has hit the USA so hard, because the credit was spent on overseas imports, as national companies outsourced or even relocated overseas.
Only bringing profit to the shareholders, Executives and lower paid work for nationals were these industries were relocated.
One real problem for Countries like the USA, and members of the European Union is that key industries have already been relocated.
In some ways they have to start a new industrial base, or even relocate these industries back locally.
To do this, these industries have to be protected, because no American or European Industry can compete in price, or quality with the Newly Industrialized Asian Countries.
So in order to create employment and business for locally made products, trade tariffs have to be raised, and imports cut.
Any New Deals our governments justify by using imported products, also will help the global economy, but not the national one.
And the support of any New Deal, could depend on whether they provide jobs and business for local Companies.
No one likes to justify protectionism, but if there are nationalized companies, that essentially failed in the free market, and a New Deal that is aimed at rebuilding a National economy.
We cannot expect our Governments to not protect these industries, or their current policies would be pointless and a sheer waste of public money.