Capitalism vs. Mercantilism

Capitalismnoun

(politics) A socio-economic system based on private ownership of resources or capital.

Capitalismnoun

(economics) An economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit.

Capitalismnoun

A socio-economic system based on private property rights, including the private ownership of resources or capital, with economic decisions made largely through the operation of a market unregulated by the state.

Capitalismnoun

An economic system based on the abstraction of resources into the form of privately owned capital, with economic decisions made largely through the operation of a market unregulated by the state.

Capitalismnoun

An economic system based on predominantly private (individual or corporate) investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of goods and wealth; contrasted with socialism or especially communism, in which the state has the predominant role in the economy.

Capitalismnoun

an economic system based on private ownership of capital

Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, a price system, private property and the recognition of property rights, voluntary exchange and wage labor.

Mercantilismnoun

The theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade, in the manner that a merchant would operate a shop. Typically this model presupposes protectionism.

Mercantilismnoun

(economics) The theory that holds that the prosperity of a nation depends upon its supply of capital, and that the global volume of trade is unchangeable.

Mercantilismnoun

an economic system (Europe in 18th C) to increase a nation's wealth by government regulation of all of the nation's commercial interests

Mercantilismnoun

transactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying commodities (goods and services)

Mercantilismnoun

belief in the benefits of profitable trading.

Mercantilismnoun

the economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances, which a government should encourage by means of protectionism.

Mercantilism

Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal.