Commerce and Its Discontents in Eighteenth-Century French Political Thought

This book uncovers the ambivalence towards commerce in eighteenth-century France, questioning the assumption that commerce was widely celebrated in the era of Adam Smith.

Anoush Fraser Terjanian (Author)

9781107005648, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 15 October 2012

237 pages, 5 b/w illus.
23.6 x 16 x 1.7 cm, 0.46 kg

'Terjanian's main argument - that eighteenth century writers had complex and nuanced views about commerce - is certainly compelling. Her research is meticulous, her argument well stated, and the scholarship she cites the very best.' Helena Rosenblatt, The Journal of Modern History

Histories of economics tend to portray attitudes towards commerce in the era of Adam Smith as celebrating what is termed doux commerce, that is, sweet or gentle commerce. Commerce and Its Discontents in Eighteenth-Century French Political Thought proposes that reliance on this doux commerce thesis has obscured our comprehension of the theory and experience of commerce in Enlightenment Europe. Instead, it uncovers ambivalence towards commerce in eighteenth-century France, distinguished by an awareness of its limits - slavery, piracy and monopoly. Through a careful analysis of the Histoire des deux Indes (1780), the Enlightenment's best-selling history of comparative empires, Anoush Fraser Terjanian offers a new perspective on the connections between political economy, imperialism and the Enlightenment. In discussing how a 'politics of definition' governed the early debates about global commerce and its impact, this book enriches our understanding of the prehistory of globalisation.

Introduction: commerce and its discontents
1. Bon luxe, mauvais luxe: a language of commerce
2. Doux commerce, commerce odieux: the commerce in humans
3. Cette odieuse piraterie: defining piracy
4. Indigne ateliers: monopoly and monopolists
Conclusion: commerce and its discontents.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ], Political science & theory [JPA], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], History [HB]