BharatNotes Mercantilism
noun (uncountable)Usage in a UPSC answer
The government's recent tilt towards import substitution and aggressive export incentives reflects a quiet revival of mercantilism, raising the question of whether a trade-surplus fixation can coexist with the spirit of multilateral cooperation that India professes at the WTO.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
mercantilism (n), mercantilist (n/adj), mercantile (adj), mercantilistic (adj), merchant (n)
Root
Latin merx = merchandise, goods; mercans = buyer, trader; French mercantile; -ism = system/doctrine
Etymology
From French mercantilisme, from the adjective mercantile, from Latin mercans ("buyer, trader"), from merx ("merchandise, goods").
Memory Hook
Hear "MERCHANT" inside MERCANTILism: a nation acting like a profit-hungry merchant, hoarding gold and selling more than it buys.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
The doctrine that national wealth consists in accumulated bullion secured through a favourable balance of trade. Its bearing on India is direct, because treating trade as a zero-sum contest made colonies instruments: they were to supply raw materials cheaply, absorb the metropole's manufactures, and be prevented from developing industries that might compete. That logic explains the tariff asymmetry under which Indian textiles entering Britain met prohibitive duties while British goods entered India at nominal rates, and it underlies the drain of wealth argument developed by Naoroji and Dutt. The point worth making in an answer is that when British industry gained a decisive competitive edge the doctrine was abandoned for free trade, yet the outcome for India was unchanged: protection while Britain was the weaker manufacturer, free trade once it was the stronger.
Don’t Confuse It With
Mercantilism treats national wealth as accumulated bullion won through a trade surplus, so trade is zero-sum, while free trade holds that both parties gain from exchange. Bullionism is the narrower emphasis on precious metal itself. Protectionism is the instrument of tariffs and restrictions, which mercantilism justifies but which serves other ends too. Laissez-faire is the wider doctrine of minimal state interference in economic life.
Hindi Meaning
वणिकवाद (vanikvād) or व्यापारवाद.
Common Questions
- How did mercantilism shape colonial policy in India?
- It cast the colony as a supplier of cheap raw materials and a captive market for British manufactures, which is why Indian textiles faced prohibitive duties in Britain while British goods entered India at nominal rates.
- What replaced mercantilism?
- Free trade, adopted once British industry could outcompete rivals, though the practical effect on India was the same because it could not impose protective tariffs of its own.
Seen in UPSC Question Papers
- Mains 2013 · GS1 · 10 marks — World History
Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Mercantilism” — proof this word earns its place on your list.
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