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Alejandro1 comments on Rationality Quotes October 2012 - Less Wrong
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Prior to WW2, Germany was the biggest trading partner of France.
Conversely, I doubt there is much trading between Bhutan and Tuvalu, and I don't expect them to fight anytime soon.
It is hard for both goods and armies to cross nonexistent borders. That doesn't say anything about what happens between nations that do share a border.
I thought the quote's intent was more general, and that the border didn't need to be a physical one that both countries shared. E.g., if Spain and Britain were prohibiting all trade between them, Bastiat would probably expect them to fight soon.
Of course, he also implicitly meant the quote to apply to cases where the lack of trade was due to restrictions, not to distance and lack of interest like in my counterexample.