Ep 200: Mercantilism, Capitalism, Marx, and Trump’s Tariffs with Richard Fulmer

In this episode I talk with Richard Fulmer, an engineer and systems analyst who was written several articles related to free-market economics, about his recent piece for the Mises institute entitled Karl Marx’s Missing Link: Erasing the Line Between Mercantilism and Capitalism, where he explores how Marx wrongly conflates the results of mercantilism with capitalism and what it means for economic analysis today. He explains Marx’s general theory of historical and economic development and shows that Marx deliberately conflates mercantilism with capitalism. He then defines both terms, stressing that mercantilism is a form of international feudalism where countries attempt to bring in as much gold as possible to avoid trade deficits and is entirely propagated by government intervention. Capitalism is an economic system with no government interference. We talk about Marx’s mistake, why his ideas became so popular, and why many on the left confuse ‘capitalism’ with state intervention. We then explore Trump’s tariffs, how they are a modern rebranding of mercantilism, and why they are doomed to fail. We then discuss how we can help right-wingers become more consistent about free markets. 

Media Referenced:

https://mises.org/power-market/karl-marxs-missing-link-erasing-line-between-mercantilism-and-capitalism

Richard Fulmer on Substack: https://cavemaneconomist.substack.com/

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