mercantilism









mercantilism


noun

  1. mercantile practices or spirit; commercialism.
  2. mercantile system.

noun

  1. Also called: mercantile system economics a theory prevalent in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries asserting that the wealth of a nation depends on its possession of precious metals and therefore that the government of a nation must maximize the foreign trade surplus, and foster national commercial interests, a merchant marine, the establishment of colonies, etc
  2. a rare word for commercialism (def. 1)

n.1834, from French mercantilisme; see mercantile + -ism. Related: mercantilist. An economic doctrine that flourished in Europe from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Mercantilists held that a nation’s wealth consisted primarily in the amount of gold and silver in its treasury. Accordingly, mercantilist governments imposed extensive restrictions on their economies to ensure a surplus of exports over imports. In the eighteenth century, mercantilism was challenged by the doctrine of laissez-faire. (See also Adam Smith.)

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