HISTORY-ECONOMIC THOUGHT 125 (001) (Fall 2020)

1.What economic problems were the mercantilists interested in solving and for whose benefit?  How do those compare with the problems addressed by the Scholastics?  Was foreign trade  a “win-win” proposition for both nations involved in exchange? 

2.Why did the early mercantilists oppose the exporting of gold bullion? What was Mun’s argument in favor of it?  

3.How did Mandiville's argue that that self love (in the form of greed) is what caused a society to flourish?  Can you find a problem with this argument?  What was Adam Smith's reaction to Mandiville's ideas?

4.According to Sedlacek, how is Smith’s concept of self interest consistent with his previous argument that “sympathy” is the foundation of a moral society