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The Malignant Effects of the Mercantile System

In: Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations

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  • Daniel Diatkine

    (University of Paris-Saclay, Univ Evry)

Abstract

The core of the mercantile system is, according to Smith, the “monopoly of colony trade”. For him, the creation of colonies is the normal consequence of increasing real wealth. Moreover, this chapter shows how the Wealth of Nations is embedded in the British political debates of its time. After the Treaty of Paris (1763), the ruling British aristocracy progressively began confusing the interests of the new colonial Empire and the interests of merchants. In Great Britain, the agitation, which follows the Stamp Act, is provoked by the political amplification (by the Rockingham Whigs and Burke) that results from the anticipation of this loss of colonial markets. In the last chapter of the Wealth of Nations, Smith proposes an “utopian” project to reform the British Empire: all the parts of the Empire would be represented in “General States” and could act as impartial spectators and as impartial legislators.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Diatkine, 2021. "The Malignant Effects of the Mercantile System," Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic Thought, in: Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations, chapter 0, pages 93-124, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:pshchp:978-3-030-81600-1_5
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-81600-1_5
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