"Mercantilists were by no means focused on the average standard of living of the population as a whole. Thus the repression of wages by imposing government control was considered by them to be a way of lowering the costs of exports, creating a surplus of exports over imports, which would bring in gold. The promotion of imperialism and even slavery was acceptable to some mercantilists for the same reason. The “nation” to them did not mean a country’s whole population. Thus Sir James Steuart could write in 1767 of “a whole nation fed and provided for gratuitously” by means of slavery. Although slaves were obviously part of the population, they were not considered to be part of the nation."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Thomas Sowell, Basic Economics, 4th ed. (2010), Ch. 25. The History of Economics
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mercantilism
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Mercantilism
Mercantilism was an economic theory and practice, dominant in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century, that promoted governmental regulation of a nation's economy for the purpose of augmenting state power at the expense of rival national powers.
4 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Mercantilism →
Related Quotes
"The motives of the men who fostered the English ... granted the national egotism of mercantilist policy, perfectly pr…"
"Here then we may learn the fallacy of the remark... that any particular state is weak, though fertile, populous, and …"
"The purposes of the mercantilists were not the same as those of modern economists. Mercantilists were concerned with …"
"Currency devaluations stimulated recovery in two ways: allowing nominal interest rates to fall and, so long as people…"
"This ground-plan, conceived by a great architect, exhibits a fundamental metaphysical dualism in Plato’s thought. ...…"
"We are called upon in this case to decide whether under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 [1] the Securities and Ex…"
"Once upon a time, capital gains were not taxable in Canada. But the federal government instituted a tax on capital ga…"
"These cases present the same question, that is, whether under the Revenue Act of 1934, 26 U.S.C.A. Int.Rev.Acts, page…"
"The boycott, as Gandhi taught, is the most nearly perfect instrument for nonviolent change, allowing masses of people…"
"Economic power has to precede political power. Gandhi understood this when, in 1930, he and his followers resolved to…"