Nation Building
Between 1400 and 1800 most of the states of Western Europe were heavily influenced by an "economic" policy known as mercantilism. No general definition of mercantilism is entirely satisfactory, but for the purposes of this paper it is thought of as a collection of policies designed to keep the state prosperous by economic regulation. Secondly, it was a series of economic controls intended to strengthen the military and colonies of a country, against other antagonistic empires. These two principles of mercantilism are interconnected, and they give an accurate view of the common attitude that shaped this time period. This concept has been coined as "nation building." Before this time period commerce was literally viewed as a sin. There was no moral/ethical allowance for merchants to make any profit from trade. This was reflected by the Church's control over economic dealings. But the decline of the medieval feudal economy gave rise to nation-states, bringing forth a revolution in commercial activity. This revolution sparked new thinking in wealth accumulation. Instead of viewing money as a mortal sin, it was now seen as the ma
Just as merchants were dependent on the power of the monarch to protect their interests of trade, so was the monarch dependent on the merchant's trade activity to increase the monarchy's treasury. This economic regulation of international trade was controlled by the government in its policies in order to build the national interests. This reworking of foreign raw materials and their resale was another aspect of the cycle of trade. 523-525) They needed the government to intervene to help reduce foreign imports of finished goods and in turn assist with domestic exports. Economics and politics were now interdependent upon each other. No longer was the market viewed as an entity in its own right, independent of the state, but viewed as a political institution designed to serve the national interest. As governments and merchants began to work together, the nation-state began to slip into a period of protectionism, where imports were at times restricted altogether. Naval fleets and well equipped soldiers were assembled and enlisted to protect the nation from other countries who might attempt to pillage their assets. The driving force behind virtually all trade was the merchant. With large amounts of money in the treasury, massive military build-up began to occur. The balance of trade doctrine, now a political issue, was more of a monopolistic control of industry and trade than it was a free market institution. However, in order to pay for this growing military expense, the government's treasury required continued economic activity through trade revenue. As the economist Thomas Mun suggested, the domestic consumption of imports should be reduced while exports and re-exports should be increased. In order for them to achieve this, they needed new legislation and the cooperation of the government.
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Acceptance Essays
