The Theoretical Basis of a Study of International Economic Relations
The theoretical basis of a study of international economic relations in its modern form has been formed as a result of a long and difficult process, full of successes but, nevertheless, with important mistakes.
The early roots have been found, perhaps, in Antic Greece in the works of Aristotel, Platon and Xenophon. In general, the antic philosophers opposed to the big commerce and supported the idea of a closed domestic economy. The closed character of the production of a self-supply type dominated from the antiquity up to 15th century and gave no incentives for the development of any profound and constant studies on international trade. In these conditions the theorists of antiquity and Middle Ages exaggerated the role of production (especially agricultural) and pleaded against the "art of making money".
At the dawn of the Modern Age (16th century) there appeared the first trials of more systematic analyses of the international economic relations.
After mercantilists had developed their theory during the period of the downfall of feudalism and the transition to capitalism, they explained integrally the principles of international trade in a paradigm of the analysis of economic reality.
Perhaps, the field of international trade was first closely studied in private or governmental employment as a part of an effort to increase the wealth and the power of the nation. This body of doctrines later was named by Adam Smith the "mercantile system" or "mercantilism". It insisted that the acquisition of wealth, particularly wealth in the form of gold, had a paramount importance for national policy. Mercantilists never explained adequately why the pursuit of gold had deserved such a high priority in their economic plans.
The mercantilists held that economic policy should be nationalistic and had to secure the wealth and power of the state. This concept was based on the conviction that national interests are inevitably in conflict - that one nation can increase its trade only at the expense of other nations. The foreign trade was reduced to the maximum exports of goods for gold and silver and some exports of raw materials and precious metals. The idea was also that the state should provide its citizens with a monopoly of the resources and trade outlets of its colonies. A typical illustration of the mercantilist spirit is the famous English Navigation Act of 1651, which had to prohibit the import of goods of non-European origin. This law lingered on until 1849.
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