Talk:Mercantilism
From Academic Kids
I have a strong feeling that this article breaks the NPOV. Would someone advocating the ways of mercantilism accept it as a fair description of their viewpoint? I don't think so, and I will change it if noone objects. Harvester 18:26, 2 Sep 2003 (UTC)
I agree with Harvester.
First off, whats up with comparing Keynsianism and merchantalism? Keynsianism is a 20th century LEFT economic theory. Merchantalism was practiced by the RIGHT during this time in history. In addition, Keynesianism is based on the Labor Theory of Value (LTV), just as Adam Smith advocated and classical economic liberalism was based upon. Modern day neoclassical/neoliberal economics is based on the Subjective Theory of Value which is the ideological opposite of the LTV.
It seems that whoever wrote this article is a right-wing market libertarian. The whole concept of "government intervention in the economy" is just a politically slanted phrase they use. Never mind that the creation of private property is also a result of "government intervention". The fact that a corporation or business is thoughtof as an individual and not a creation of the government is another serious problem that these guys totally overlook in their whole "government intervention in the economy" view. In fact, corporations are a type of government and are self contained command economies, and they "intervene in the economy" just as democratically elected governments do. Which one would you trust to intervene...?
Anyways, enough ranting. I think someone needs to do some revising of this article. It is far from being neutral.
What does this statement mean?
- "Thus for instance England banned the export of unfinished cloth to the Netherlands."
Does "unfinished cloth" mean cloth that has not yet been made into clothing, or does it mean cloth whose manufacture has not been completed somehow (eg., it hasn't been dyed)?
- "To deal with this England passed the Navigation Acts which forbade any ship that was not English, or carrying goods produced in its own nation from entering English ports."
Huh? Does the "not" before "English" apply to the next clause or not? I find this statement very confusing. Can someone clarify it?
Tbarron 00:09 Jan 3, 2003 (UTC)
The mercantilists and bullionists were actually right, and their reasoning was sound, once you realise that a lot of this is at cross purposes (and this article is misrepresenting them). Gold is gold, and it does matter - once you remember what you are really talking about. Specifically, think of a war chest: if you run out of gold during a war, you lose your soldiers and so you lose your war (in the circumstances of the 18th century); Macaulay remarked on how Frederick the Great came through the Seven Years War with his finances sound and so with his regime intact, despite a lot of devastation - you can always recover from that, but not from decisive defeat. And "wealth" is hardly the right way to assess the strategic resources involved in second sourcing British timber supplies; it wasn't that Baltic supplies might cost money, but that they might be denied by an enemy (which was just precisely what Napoleon tried, with his "Continental Policy"). After enough of that, again, you lose the war. Of course, it is quite possible to use the definitions of "wealth", etc, in doing this sort of analysis - after all, economics was not a distinct subject then - but it isn't covering the area of work that the free trade types were. PML.
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mercantilism and king james
Why did the logic of mercantilist ideas encourage King James to grant a charter to the Virginia Company?
--Confuzion 04:40, 3 Apr 2004 (UTC)someone needs to explain bullionism in more detail... also, there are many points that are unclear in this article, though I have tried to clarify where I could. 1. under nations are in a direct competition with each other, is this an overall political competition or limited to economic competition? 2. need time frame for the cloth export ban 3. Is the St. Eustace topic relevant as stated? 4. Some of the Keynes paragraph mention a bit of supply-side economics info that I don't think is relevant either, but I've left it in.
The article claimed that one of the tenets of Mercantilism was that "the nation with the most wealth wins." Since nationhood is not self-evidently a contest, it's not clear to me what someone might have meant by this. I've removed it for now, because I think this phrasing trivializes what might be an important point. --Ryguasu 04:48, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Andrea Doria
I have corrected the reference to the Andrea Doria. The absurd reference to the SS Andrea Doria, an Italian liner of the 1950s, is common throughout the web.
However, although I have left the item in the article, I don't see its relevance to the topic. GreatWhiteNortherner 07:38, Apr 17, 2004 (UTC)
Irrelevant reference
What does "The presence of a small Caribbean island (St Eustace)... was the first recognition of the United States as an independent country," have to do with mercantilism? I think someone with an interest in American history is being self-indulgent. It should be moved to a more appropriate article (War of independence) or simply removed.
Neo-mercantilism
The article also suggests the revolt of the United States as being against mercantilism, since it was against the policies of Britain. But Throughout the 19th century, the US had a heavy mercantilist policy. This was pushed forward the strongest by Henry Clay and his 'American System', and Henry Clay was an idol of Abraham Lincoln. The theories and practice that the US was operating on was often called 'neo-mercantilism' which was very popular. I agree the way the article is written sort of imposes the free-trader bias that mercantilism is the worst economic evil imaginable. If you actually read Adam Smith, even though an opponent of mercantilism, he argues in his Wealth of Nations that tariffs are often beneficial and necessary. Adam Smith promoted "free markets" (markets that were open) and not "free trade". Mercantilism and free trade are not direct opposites, though it is used as a bogeyman by economic libertarians. You can be against free trade and not a mercantilist. At any rate, I plan to write an article on neo-mercantilism some time in the future. Brianshapiro
- Be careful not to conflate mercantilism and protectionism. Mercantilism as a theory generally advocates protectionism, while classical economics generally advocates free trade. However, mercantilism does not equal protectionism, nor does classical economics not equal free trade. Both theories are far less simple and straightforward. If you do write an article on neo-mercantilism make sure it also covers the revival of some mercantilist elements by Keynes, which are sometimes pejoratively called neo-mercantilism. - SimonP 16:16, Feb 4, 2005 (UTC)
Attention notice
I placed an "attention" notice on this page. As an lyaman interested in economics, I thought that several of the statements were unclear or plain wrong. The other comments on this discussion page supported that impression. The main problem is that mercantilism is equated with any government intervention in the market, which is too broad as a definition. AdamRetchless 21:52, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Modern "mercantilism" and money
Does the emphasis on gold and silver have anything to do with the fact that these were used as currency? When Keynes praised the value of gold and silver, was that because these were the basis of the US currency at the time? Does the current emphasis on trade balance have anything to do with the need to get US dollars to pay foreign debt, prop up the local currency, or buy commodities on the international market? Just some thoughts. This seems to be related to a lot of recent discussion about the dominance of the US dollar. AdamRetchless 00:04, 28 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Theory section
The paragraph about the military is not clear.
- Gold was essential as it was used to fund the military. A nation with large gold reserves could thus field a larger force for a longer period of time than its rivals and would thus be victorious.
This seems to conflate two separate concepts: the amount of gold in the king's treasury, and the amount of gold in the national economy. Of course they are related, but they are still different. To clarify this, I think it is important to state whether the military was supported by domestic production or foreign production. If the soldiers and weapons came from foreign nations, then it makes sense that the king would want a lot of gold in the national economy, but if the soldiers and weapons came from his own country, I don't see why it matters how much gold is in the national economy. AdamRetchless 21:32, 28 Mar 2005 (UTC)
