Commerce and its discontents in eighteenth-century French political thought / Anoush Fraser Terjanian.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Terjanian, Anoush Fraser, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economics--Political aspects--France--History--18th century.

Economics.

France--Commerce--History--18th century.

France.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 226 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Other Title:

Commerce & Its Discontents in Eighteenth-Century French Political Thought

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

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 atelier: monopoly and monopolists

Conclusion: Commerce and its discontents.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-139-88817-X

1-139-79371-3

1-139-77630-4

1-139-04751-5

1-139-77934-6

1-139-78335-1

1-139-78233-9

1-283-71457-4

1-139-77782-3

OCLC:

815970204