Chuhei Sugiyama's View of Mercantilism

Abstract

Sugiyama's major contribution to mercantilism studies is that he succeeded in clarifying the details and historical meanings of Land Bank projects in English mercantilism. In the process of his thorough scrutiny, he made clear some features common to mercantilist economic arguments by reviewing a number of original writings, and came to recognize what was referred to as a “broad sense of mercantilism.”
His contribution is due to his unique empirical approach to the history of economic thought, leading him to criticize the Ohtsuka School of history for its schematic dichotomy. He was also opposed to the concept of “Essential Mercantilism” proposed by the school. His thought is truly suggestive of what mercantilism studies should be.
His broad sense of mercantilism consists of several features, of which he particularly emphasized “the acquisition of money (wealth) by foreign trade” and “the view of international confrontation based on nationalism.” He put particular importance on the international and imperialistic trade cycles of mercantilism. Sugiyama's perspective could provide a basis for many informative and meaningful future studies of mercantilism.