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A Discourse of Trade
Excerpt from Nicholas Barbon on a Discourse of Trade 1690
And notwithstanding the great Influence, that trade now hath in the Support and Welfare of II States and Kingdoms, yet there is nothing more unknown, or that Men differ more in their Sentiments, than about the True Causes that raise and promote trade.
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Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
And notwithstanding the great Influence, that trade now hath in the Support and Welfare of II States and Kingdoms, yet there is nothing more unknown, or that Men differ more in their Sentiments, than about the True Causes that raise and promote trade.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
- GenresEconomics
Nook
First published January 1, 1690
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About the author
Nicholas Barbon
21 books2 followersNicholas Barbon (c.1640 - c.1698) was an English economist, physician, and financial speculator. Historians of mercantilism consider him to be one of the first proponents of the free market.
In the aftermath of the Great Fire of London, he became an active London property developer and helped to pioneer fire insurance and mortgages as a means of financing such developments.
In the aftermath of the Great Fire of London, he became an active London property developer and helped to pioneer fire insurance and mortgages as a means of financing such developments.
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August 26, 2018
In Barbon's 1690 tract, the most impressive section is that where he discusses the value of products. We see him lay out how value is determined, predating Smith by over 80 years, in a way that is superior to the great Scottish philosopher. Barbon explicitly states that "the value of all Wares arise from their Use; things of no use, have no value." This allows Barbon to avoid the value paradox that Smith, Ricardo and later Classical Economists fell into by attempting to explain value by the costs of production or labor. Later in the same section, Barbon again comes to the conclusion that Price is just the present value of a good that will fluctuate over time, influenced both by the the demand of the good (how useful/valued it is) as well as the supply of the good (how plentiful or scarce). Finally, before concluding the section he seems to hint at time preference, developed later by Bohm Bawerk and Wicksell, when discussing what drives the price of interest.
In his discussion on money and interest, Barbon is consistent in his analysis of value by applying to money as well, stating that it is the scarcity of gold and silver that keeps up the value. However, in this section he does deviate from the above thought of him potentially understanding the impact of time preference on the rate of interest. Barbon correctly deduces that interest is a function of potential loss for the borrower, though he ends up concluding that the rate of interest must be settled by law or else the merchant would just go about making up his own rates.
Overall Barbon makes a few great contributions to economic thought. In addition to the call outs above, he concludes that trade incentives peace as well as makes a nation more productive. Unfortunately, he does seem to advocate for the growth of the state and expanding the empire, though I do not fault him for a common goal given the historical context in which he is writing.
In his discussion on money and interest, Barbon is consistent in his analysis of value by applying to money as well, stating that it is the scarcity of gold and silver that keeps up the value. However, in this section he does deviate from the above thought of him potentially understanding the impact of time preference on the rate of interest. Barbon correctly deduces that interest is a function of potential loss for the borrower, though he ends up concluding that the rate of interest must be settled by law or else the merchant would just go about making up his own rates.
Overall Barbon makes a few great contributions to economic thought. In addition to the call outs above, he concludes that trade incentives peace as well as makes a nation more productive. Unfortunately, he does seem to advocate for the growth of the state and expanding the empire, though I do not fault him for a common goal given the historical context in which he is writing.
Displaying 1 of 1 review