Marx, Mercantilism and the Cameralist Path to Wealth

Abstract

Mercantilism was the origin of capitalism, as Marx argued in Das Kapital. Many misconceptions have surrounded modern historians’ interpretations of it, especially those contrasting “mercantilism” with its supposed neighbouring disciplines, variants or apparent Sonderwege, such as German Cameralism. But when seen in a European perspective, “Mercantilism” as commonly framed was more of an Anglo-Saxon Sonderweg within a broader continental system of thought (“Cameralism”) that emphasized happiness, manufacturing, scientific discovery and invention, and creativity - rather than trade wars, protectionism and restrictive systems of society and oeconomy - as the origins of wealth, power and prosperity. Many of these features have survived to the present day.