Essays: Moral, Political, and Literary

ESSAY VI

Essay_301-350.indd 327 12/27/11 9:04 PM ESSAY VI OF THE JEALOUSY OF TRADE H AVING endeavoured to remove one species of ill-founded jealousy, which is so prevalent among commercial nations, it may not be amiss to mention another, which seems equally groundless. 1 Nothing is more usual, among states 1[In the preceding essay, Hume argued that no nation need fear that its supply of money will be depleted by trade. Now he addresses another of the "jealousies" that inhibit free trade, namely, the fear that trading will cause a nation harm insofar as it contributes to the improvement and prosperity of its neighbors. This essay, which made its first appearance some eight years later than the other economic essays, represents the culmination of Hume's thinking about the mutual benefits of trade or commerce and the undesirability of raising barriers to protect even what might be considered a nation's "staple" commodities. According to Green and Grose, this essay appeared for the first time in the 1758 edition of the Essay_301-350.indd 328 12/27/11 9:04 PM 328 ESSAY VI which have made some advances in commerce, than to look on the progress of their neighbours with a suspicious eye, to consider all trading states as their rivals, and to suppose that it is impossible for any of them to flourish, but at their expence . In opposition to this narrow and malignant opinion, I will venture to assert, that the encrease of riches and commerce in any one nation, instead of hurting, commonly promotes the riches and commerce of all its neighbours; and that a state can scarcely carry its trade and industry very far, where all the surrounding states are buried in ignorance, sloth, and barbarism. It is obvious, that the domestic industry of a people cannot be hurt by the greatest prosperity of their neighbours; and as this branch of commerce is undoubtedly the most important in any extensive kingdom, we are so far removed from all reason of jealousy. But I go farther, and observe, that where an open communication is preserved among nations, it is impossible but the domestic industry of every one must receive an encrease from the improvements of the others. Compare the situation of GREAT BRITAIN at present, with what it was two centuries ago. All the arts both of agriculture and manufactures were then extremely rude and imperfect. Every improvement , which we have since made, has arisen from our imitation of foreigners; and we ought so far to esteem it happy, that they had previously made advances in arts and ingenuity. But this intercourse is still upheld to our great advantage: Notwithstanding the advanced state of our manufactures, we daily adopt, in every art, the inventions and improvements of our neighbours. The commodity is first imported from abroad, to our great discontent, while we imagine that it drains us of Essays and Treatises on SeveralSubjects. Greig points out, however, that both this essay and the one entitled "Of the Coalition of Parties" were printed and paged separately and bound up with later copies of the 1758 edition of the Essays and Treatises. The actual date of its appearance, therefore, was late 1759 or early 1760. See J. T. Y. Greig, ed., The Letters of David Hume (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1932), 1:272 and 317.] Essay_301-350.indd 329 12/27/11 9:04 PM 329 OF THE JEALOUSY OF TRADE our money: Afterwards, the art itself is gradually imported, to our visible advantage: Yet we continue still to repine,o that our neighbours should possess any art, industry, and invention; forgetting that, had they not first instructed us, we should have been at present barbarians; and did they not still continue their instructions, the arts must fall into a state of languor, and lose that emulation and novelty, which contribute so much to their advancement. The encrease of domestic industry lays the foundation of foreign commerce. Where a great number of commodities are raised and perfected for the home-market, there will always be found some which can be exported with advantage. But if our neighbours have no art or cultivation, they cannot take them; because they will have nothing to give in exchange. In this respect, states are in the same condition as individuals. A single man can scarcely be industrious, where all his fellowcitizens are idle. The riches of...