mercantile system

[ mur-kuhn-teel sis-tuhm, -tahyl ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Economics.

a system of political and economic policy, evolving with the modern national state and seeking to secure a nation's political and economic supremacy in its rivalry with other states. According to this system, money was regarded as a store of wealth, and the goal of a state was the accumulation of precious metals, by exporting the largest possible quantity of its products and importing as little as possible, thus establishing a favorable balance of trade.

First recorded in 1770–80

Under the mercantile system then in vogue, supplies and markets had now to be sought in England.

It must unquestionably have thrown the whole mercantile system of the country into the greatest confusion.

But external trade is regulated by governments on the principles of the mercantile system.

The principle of the "commercial system" or "mercantile system" is, that wealth consists in money, or in gold and silver.

Of all the expedients of the mercantile system, accordingly, it is the one of which they are the fondest.

April 23, 2024inveterate

[in-vet-er-it ]

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