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Do not take peace for granted: Adam Smith’s warning on the relation between commerce and war

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Pia Paganelli
  • Reinhard Schumacher

Abstract

Is trade a promoter of peace? Adam Smith, one of the earliest defenders of trade, worries that commerce may instigate some perverse incentives, encouraging wars. The wealth that commerce generates decreases the relative cost of wars, increases the ability to finance wars through debts, which decreases their perceived cost, and increases the willingness of commercial interests to use wars to extend their markets, increasing the number and prolonging the length of wars. Smith, therefore, cannot assume that trade would yield a peaceful world. While defending and promoting trade, Smith warns us not to take peace for granted.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Pia Paganelli & Reinhard Schumacher, 2019. "Do not take peace for granted: Adam Smith’s warning on the relation between commerce and war," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 43(3), pages 785-797.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cambje:v:43:y:2019:i:3:p:785-797.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cje/bey040
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Coyne,Christopher J., 2020. "Defense, Peace, and War Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108724036, January.
    2. Jon Murphy, 2020. "In defence of liberal peace: A response to Edwin van de Haar," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(3), pages 460-463, October.
    3. Matson, Erik W., 2021. "The Edifying Discourses of Adam Smith: Focalism, Commerce, and Serving the Common Good," OSF Preprints uye54, Center for Open Science.
    4. Edwin van de Haar, 2020. "Rejoinder," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(3), pages 464-466, October.
    5. Ballandonne, Matthieu & Cersosimo, Igor, 2022. "Towards a “Text as Data” Approach in the History of Economics: An Application to Adam Smith’s Classics," OSF Preprints mg3zb, Center for Open Science.
    6. Peter A.G. van Bergeijk, 2019. "Deglobalization 2.0," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 18560.

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