A defence of free trade. The hatter and the shoemaker are neighbours. The hatter makes one hat which he intends to sell at a high price; he secures a ban on the importation of hats. The shoemaker believes in mass production, but finds that trade restrictions and tariff barriers prevent him from paying with shoes for the machinery he has acquired from a neighbouring country. He finds that each country is unable to sell what it produces to buy what it needs. Action is taken to bring this state of affairs to an end, and general prosperity results.