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In this comprehensive and topical book David Reisman analyses the contribution of the mercantilist authors to economic and political thought. International conflict, the balance of trade, state intervention, globalisation and patriotism remain as relevant in the present day as they were in the foundation years of the nation state.

Professor Reisman examines the evolution of the mercantilist world view. He draws on the ideas of philosophers and businessmen, mainly British, to show that the mercantilists were conservatives and nationalists who were also open to economic development and targeted change. He devotes particular attention to the work of Hales, Milles, Malynes, Misselden. Mun, Child and Davenant and in particular to their theories of consumption, population, productivity, individual choice and market failure. Reisman demonstrates that the mercantilist authors had an interdisciplinary interest in the politics of control and the sociology of community at a time when the borders of the emerging fields were not yet fixed.

This thought-provoking book is valuable reading for students of the managed economy, international economics and world trade. Its impartial but probing analysis will also assist policymakers and government officials.