Adam Smith Episode 8: A Nation of Shopkeepers

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Season 3 Episode 19

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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 design
• free ports versus exclusive companies and growth outcomes
• enumeration, navigation acts, and distorted incentives
• defense costs and the arithmetic of empire
• the “nation of shopkeepers” argument and public choice
• draconian wool laws, smuggling, and consumer losses
• physiocracy’s insights and errors, sector favoritism
• the system of natural liberty as Smith’s alternative

If you have questions or comments, or want to suggest a future topic, email the show at taitc.email@gmail.com !

You can follow Mike Munger on Twitter at @mungowitz

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Published on 8 hours ago