Mercantilism

Ever since the Physiocrats and Adam Smith, mercantilism has been described as the opposite of classical political economy. Lars Magnusson challenges this view by suggesting that there is a sharp distinction between mercantilism and the nineteenth century laissez-faire economics. He contends that the conventional view, which conflates the two economic ideologies, only further obfuscates the true nature of mercantilism and thereby disregards the salient contribution it made to subsequent economic theory.
"Mercantilism" presents a full-scale account of the development of mercantilism as a trend of economic thought during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Instead of accepting existing interpretations, he fundamentally questions the specific elements of mercantilism, examining whether or not it really was a coherent school of thought.
Magnusson provides a critique of narrow definitions of the subject. He suggests that mercantilism must be understood as a series of written texts appearing in a particular political and economic context, rather than as an all-embracing system of economic thought. Within this framework a language and vocabulary of economies was developed that was an essential precondition for the subsequent growth of economic thought and knowledge. In this sense, mercantilism was much more influential than has previously been appreciated.

Zusammenfassung
Ever since the Physiocrats and Adam Smith, mercantilism or 'the mercantile system' have been described as the opposite of classical political economy. This view is very much brought into question by the current book. It argues that the sharp distinction between mercantilism and 19th century laissez-faire economics has obscured the meaning, content and contribution of the former. This book presents a full-scale account of the development of mercantilism as a trend of economic thought during the 17th and 18th centuries. Instead of accepting existing interpretations, it begins with the most fundamental questions: What was mercantilism? Did it have a central message? Was it really a coherent school of thought? A central theme of the book is its critique of narrow definitions of its subject. Mercantilism must be understood as a series of written texts appearing in a particular political and economic context, rather than as an all-embracing system of economic thought. Within this context a language and vocabulary of economics was developed that was an essential precondition for the subsequent growth of economic thought and knowledge. In this sense mercantilism was much more modern than has been previously appreciated.

Inhalt
Foreword, 1 INTRODUCTORY THEMES, 2 DEBATES ON MERCANTILISM, 3 THE BIRTH OF A DISCOURSE OF MERCANTILISM, 4 SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY DISCUSSIONS, 5 A SCIENCE OF TRADE, 6 POWER AND PLENTY-THE FAVOURABLE BALANCE OF TRADE, 7 THE OTHER COUNTRIES, 8 CONCLUDING REMARKS, Index

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