Mercantilism is an economic theory that was popular in Europe during the 17th century.

The basic idea is that a country’s power and economic well-being come from having lots of precious metals around, like gold and silver. This leads to arguments against free trade and for protectionist trade policies. By gaining a trade surplus (i.e., exporting more than you’re importing), a country can collect more and more of these metals from other countries buying its goods.

While mercantilism is usually associated with European trade policies of the somewhat distant past, it still pops up in today’s world to describe a country that is acting in mercantilistic ways.