The mercantilism of compromise: Charles Davenant

David Reisman ()

Chapter 9 in Mercantilism, 2025, pp 132-154 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Davenant, MP, civil servant and merchant, was active mainly in the wartime years at the end of the seventeenth century. He was in favour of a positive balance of trade to acquire specie in a country without mines of gold and silver of its own. Domestic consumption should be limited in order to free manufactures for export. As did many other mercantilists, he knew that imports were necessary in order to provide purchasing power to trading partners. Population must grow: land (subject to improvement) and food were not a constraint, and neither were employment opportunities. Immigration should be encouraged to bring in numbers, skills and wealth. Restrictions should be removed since market freedom makes the nation rich. Davenant was not a pure liberal since he advocated wise laws as well as individualism. The nation is a single organism ruled by the brain. Since politicians can be inefficient, corrupt, easily swayed by the moneyed classes, there was a need for a constitution with appropriate checks and balances such as two houses of Parliament, a Council of Trade and a conservative code of ethics. Money is unlikely to cause inflation.

Keywords: Balance of trade; Multilateral trade; Consumption; Self-interest; State regulation; Constitutional government; Money (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035347650
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