 The (Benign) Economic Consequences of the Mercantile SystemDaniel Diatkine ()
Chapter Chapter 4 in Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations, 2021, pp 69-92 from Palgrave Macmillan Abstract: Abstract (1) The Principle of the mercantile system affirms that the interest of merchants is identical to the common interest. (2) As, according to Smith, it is not easier to buy than to sell, exchange is an exchange of commodities by means of commodities. As all goods have the properties of money and the difference between barter and monetary exchange lost most of its meaning. (3) For Smith the mercantile system was the result of history of Europe, since the fall of the Roman Empire. It is not the result of ignorance, as Physiocrats (who forge the expression “système mercantile”) suppose. However the economic damages which this system causes in Great Britain are easily compensated by savings. However it is not the case in Bengal, ruled by the East India Company. Savings allowed Smith to alleviate Hume’s concern about the growth of public debt in Britain. According to Hume, the transformation of Great Britain into an absolute monarchy would be the less catastrophic consequence of the public debts. For Smith this one implies an important reform of the British Empire, and this reform would be a bettering of its constitution (see next chapter). Date: 2021 There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:pshchp:978-3-030-81600-1_4 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-81600-1_4 Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic Thought from Palgrave Macmillan |
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