| Catherine Keyser (1/6/99) Mercantilism |
I am confused about the role of mercantilism in European economic dominance. I am reading the chapter by Paul Kennedy for the final paper, and while he espouses the market economy and Adam Smith with seemingly large enthusiasm, he cites mercantilism somewhere as part of Europe's growing greatness. While I understand that mercantilism encourages serving the mother country (and thus competitiveness), doesn't it also, by involving government control in economics, counter the independence of the ideal market economy? Is Kennedy just trying to allude to the competitive aspect of mercantilism, or did mercantilism set up a foundation for "pure" capitalism that I'm missing? |
| MSM (1/10/99) | Take another look at the selections in ICCW from Colbert's correspondence with his intendants in Marseilles and Toulouse. What was he trying to achieve, and what problems did he encounter? Look again also at the monopoly granted by Louis XIV, the terms of which reflect Colbert's policies. Are such arrangements likely to foster capitalist competition? |