All text below is copyright the Wall Street Journal. This editorial was published in the Cambodia Daily on Oct. 28, 2010; it has been condensed below.
The latest outbreak of economic nationalism comes from Down Under. No sooner had the Singapore Exchange made an $8.3 billion bid on Monday for ASX, Sydney's stock exchange, than some politicians began talking about defending Australia's "national interest" against the foreign invaders. If they're not careful, these leaders actually will damage the national economic interest.
Political grandstanding against this deal is by far the greater danger [Ed: greater than various arguments purportedly advanced by opponents of the plan, and shot down by the editorial]. Australia's economy is thriving due to the global commodities boom, but more broadly as well thanks to the opening of the country's economy to competition and investment undertaken by a succession of governments over the past 25 years. But the Australian economy will only thrive so long as the government stays true to the free-market principles that have spurred national growth. One of the most important of these principles is openness to foreign investment.
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