Page "Mercantilism" Paragraph 66

The first school to completely reject mercantilism was the physiocrats, who developed their theories in France.

Their theories also had several important problems, and the replacement of mercantilism did not come until Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations in 1776.

This book outlines the basics of what is today known as classical economics.

Smith spends a considerable portion of the book rebutting the arguments of the mercantilists, though often these are simplified or exaggerated versions of mercantilist thought.