Intro to International Relations
These gains refer to benefits that are reaped during trade agreements. Relative gains pertain to individual winnings/gains whereas absolute gains refer to benefits being reaped by all parties involved.
€¢ Realist position†’Relative Gains is what matters most (if someone wins more they may not want to enter that particular trade agreement)
€¢ Liberal position†’ The primacy of Absolute Gains and Efficiency (if they gain something they're happy).
With actual sentences, this is a 4/4.
These two concepts refer to how states will act in the international community. Absolute gains looks at the total effect of the decision while relative gains only looks at the individual gains in respect to others. Absolute gains will engage in comparative advantage and expand the overall economy while relative gains is a zero-sum game where one state can only get richer by gaining from others.
Could an example of this be the essay we wrote on a free trade agreement between the America’s by looking at the overall gains vs the individual gains of each country involved?
^ Sort of. The logic is close.
Relative gains are a comparative measure of the benefits reaped after a trade agreement. Absolute gains are not comparative, but rather solely taken as positive gains. Realists believe in the importance of Relative Gains because they believe that having power over other countries economically lends to more security. Liberals feel that absolute gains are important because they feel that it is important to make gains, not necessarily to make gains over other countries.
Realists have the “Better Off Alone” mentality, whereas liberals think “We’re All in This Together.” As in High School Musical, liberals are less concerned with competition and individual gain and more concerned with moving forward as a group. Realists, like Three Days Grace, are more pessimistic about cooperation and the world in general.