… is from pages 270-271 of Jacob Viner’s 1968 International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences essay, “Mercantilist Thought,” as this essay is reprinted in the 1991 collection, edited by Douglas Irwin, Jacob Viner: Essays on the Intellectual History of Economics:
Most mercantilist measures involved a burden on some occupational or regional sectors of the population. Such sectors, without challenging the general objectives of mercantilism, would commonly resort to all the forms of pressure and persuasion available to them to obtain relaxation of the measures or a revision of them which would shift the burdens elsewhere. Thus, in England the graziers would press for a relaxation one the export of raw wool, and the independent merchants would protest vigorously against the special privileges granted to the trading companies. Even where absolute monarchy prevailed, governments found it necessary to make concessions to dissenting groups.
DBx: And, of course, so it goes today. This method of making policy is not only inconsistent with the rule of law, it encourages rent-seeking and heightens economic uncertainty. How distressing that so few of us seem to have learned much on this score over the past 300 years.
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