Protectionism comes in many forms. Trump likes tariffs; ordinary folk like featherbedding, i.e., using unnecessary labor so that the laborers get paid. Same difference: consumers pay more for stuff.

People don’t like vultures, but they serve an important ecological function. If too much of the profits from cutting fat from our enterprises ends up in concentrated hands, if too many people are harmed by having become that “fat,” politics should create a remedy through taxation and subsidization of the transition to an occupation that needs people. These are real people with real needs, and since the only argument against protectionism is the aggregate gain from efficiency, the aggregation should be willing to soften the blow. But to do that, the blow must be allowed to land.