mercantilism
Export-favoring economic doctrine
Mercantilism is an economic theory that dominated European thought from the 16th to 18th centuries, holding that national wealth depends on accumulating gold and silver through favorable trade balances.
Governments should promote exports, restrict imports, and establish colonies as sources of raw materials and markets.
Mercantilism justified colonial exploitation.
The term now often describes protectionist trade policies more generally.
Element seventy-nine
- silverLustrous white precious metal
- bullionPrecious metal in bulk
- treasureValued wealth or keepsake
- accumulationCollected mass over time
specie · reserves · coffers · national wealth · prosperity · stockpile · precious metals · hoarding
Territories under foreign control
- imperialismExtending dominion over others
- East India CompanyBritish colonial trading corporation
- plantationsLarge-scale farming operations
- triangular tradeThree-legged Atlantic exchange system
chartered companies · exploration · conquest · territories · expansion · monopoly · extraction · subjugation
Shielding local producers
- tariffsTaxes on imports
- balance of tradeNet value of exports
- zero-sumBalanced gains and losses
- economic nationalismFavoring domestic over foreign commerce
autarky · dirigisme · import quotas · trade barriers · industrial policy · state control · royal charters · specie
Goods sold abroad
- importsGoods brought in
- tariffsTaxes on imports
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- dutiesRequired tasks or charges
commodities · shipping · balance of trade · surplus · deficit · merchants · trade routes · entrepôt
Favoring friends in appointments
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- favoritismPreferential treatment of some
- inefficiencySuboptimal use of resources
Supreme independent authority
- nationalismDevotion to one's country
- state interventionPublic authority involvement
- powerEnergy transfer rate
- hegemonyDominant group's control
economic warfare · diplomacy · geopolitics · national interest · subsidies · monopolies · regulation · naval supremacy
gold
Element seventy-nine
accumulation · specie · reserves · coffers · national wealth · prosperity · stockpile · precious metals · hoarding · mint
colonies
Territories under foreign control
- imperialismExtending dominion over others
- East India CompanyBritish colonial trading corporation
- plantationsLarge-scale farming operations
triangular trade · chartered companies · exploration · conquest · territories · expansion · monopoly · extraction · subjugation · slave trade
protectionism
Shielding local producers
- tariffsTaxes on imports
- balance of tradeNet value of exports
- zero-sumBalanced gains and losses
economic nationalism · autarky · dirigisme · import quotas · trade barriers · industrial policy · state control · royal charters · specie · hoarding
exports
Goods sold abroad
duties · commodities · shipping · balance of trade · surplus · deficit · merchants · trade routes · entrepôt · re-export
cronyism
Favoring friends in appointments
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- favoritismPreferential treatment of some
inefficiency · rent-seeking · stagnation · Adam Smith · laissez-faire
sovereignty
Supreme independent authority
- nationalismDevotion to one's country
- state interventionPublic authority involvement
- powerEnergy transfer rate
hegemony · economic warfare · diplomacy · geopolitics · national interest · subsidies · monopolies · regulation · naval supremacy · rivalries
- historyancient civilizations, past events, historian, epochs, era
- economicssupply and demand, inflation, GDP, GNP, gross domestic product
- 1700sMozart, Voltaire, colonial period, French Revolution, William III
- Colonial AmericaGeorge Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Benjamin Franklin, Declaration of Independence
- Early ModernRenaissance, 1500s, 1600s, Reformation, sixteenth century
- economic historyIndustrial Revolution, trade routes, Great Depression, gold standard, Silk Road
mercantilismfree trade
Unrestricted international exchange
laissez-faire · open markets · free market · globalization · neoliberalism
mercantilismcommunism
Collective ownership system
classical liberalism · socialism · Marxism · Keynesianism · laissez-faire economics