Adam Smith Episode 8: A Nation of Shopkeepers
About this episode
The episode discusses Adam Smith's critique of mercantilism and explores the economic implications of colonial policies.
Send us Fan Mail Smith closes Book IV by dismantling mercantilism through the lens of colonial policy, monopoly, and rent seeking, then weighs physiocracy against the system of natural liberty. We trace why colonies grew despite Europe, not because of it, and how “wealth as money” broke policy and fueled war. • mercantilism’s definition of wealth and the balance of trade myth • monopoly and bounties as tools for concentrated gains • chapter 7 on colonies as a case study in institutional desi...
People in this episode
Host: Michael Munger
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Book IV, physiocracy, natural liberty
Places: Europe, colonies, colonial policy, mercantilism, wealth as money
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