Mercantilismen

Mercantilismen, or mercantilism, is an economic doctrine and system of state policy that dominated European economic thought from the 16th to the 18th centuries. It held that a nation’s wealth and power were best advanced by accumulating gold and silver and by maintaining a favorable balance of trade, meaning exports should exceed imports. Wealth was viewed as finite, and the ability to extract monetary value from foreign trade was central to national strength.

A central feature was substantial government intervention in the economy. Policies included tariffs and subsidies to promote domestic production, quotas or bans on imports, and the granting of monopolies and navigation privileges to favored merchants. Colonial expansion was pursued to secure raw materials and new markets, reinforcing mercantilist aims through empire-building and state-supported commerce. The protection and promotion of strategic industries, often at the expense of foreign competitors, were common.

Mercantilist policy also relied on the idea that money could only be increased by a positive balance of trade and by capturing wealth from others’ economies, sometimes leading to zero-sum perceptions of international trade. Nations sought to cultivate powerful merchant fleets and secure favorable terms in international exchange through regulatory measures and state backing.

Decline and legacy: Mercantilism began to lose influence in the late 18th century as classical economists, notably Adam Smith, argued that wealth consisted of productive capacity and that free trade, not protectionism, typically promotes growth. While the doctrinal prominence of mercantilism faded, its emphasis on the link between trade, industry, and state power influenced later protectionist and state-directed economic ideas.