Failure of the Mercantilism - Essay Example

From this paper it is clear that the mercantilists believed that the presence of more gold and silver bullions in a country translated to a better economy than any country with minimal gold and silver reserves. The theorists believed and encouraged countries not to use their gold deposits for trade even when the people desperately needed these products. The mercantilists had the idea that any successful trade meant the gain of one party and the loss of the other party. They never viewed the trade between two countries as being mutually beneficial.

They encouraged their countries to influence the international trade and ensure that the citizens did not compromise their gold and silver deposits.This essay stresses that the mercantilists developed ideas that were meant to promote the interests of the merchants since they were believed to be a significant source of a country’s gold and silver reserves. The government placed the role of attracting more gold and silver to the country to the merchants and also entrusted them with implementing relevant measures that would seek to regulate the economy.

Malynes, for example, states that the merchants more specifically the bankers would develop appropriate measures that would see the increase in the supply of specie into the country. Malynes rejected any effects of the exchange rate in influencing external trade and trusted the “tricks of the bankers” to solve the economic problem experienced in the country.