First, I think it is important to mention that I had never heard of mercantilism until I took this course. So, what is the definition of mercantilism? Well, mercantilism is the idea that there is a limited amount of resources and wealth in the world. Through mercantilism comes the idea that trade should be government controlled so that each government can acquire the resources and wealth that they need first before other governments. As LaHaye puts it, "Adam Smith coined the term “mercantile system” to describe the system of political economy that sought to enrich the country by restraining imports and encouraging exports. This system dominated Western European economic thought and policies from the sixteenth to the late eighteenth centuries.," (LaHaye, paragraph 1) While many people might think that mercantilism is a good thing, it actually has had several negative outcomes to go along with it. For one, mercantilism takes away the people right to free trade on their own, instead the government takes on the only trading rights, while only trading what they deem to be "necessary." It is another breach of freedom for the people and in my opinion is not a good idea at all for any government. In the end mercantilism is ultimately what led to the American Revolution, where Americans fought for their rights as a free country.
Works Cited
LaHaye, Laura. Mercantilism. Econlib. https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Mercantilism.html
How Mercantilism Started the American Revolution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWxvfkFbKy0&t=1s