Moral, political, and literary essays: Of public credit

David Hume (1711-1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian and economist who, in just nine essays, part of his Political Discourses (first published in 1752 and then revised and undergoing numerous editions and revisions until his death), made an important critique of so-called mercantilist ideas on money, prices, international trade, taxation and employment. In the same year, 1752, which some consider to be the early dawn of economic science, Adam Smith was a student at Oxford and was reprimanded by his tutor for reading these newly published essays. This did not prevent this other Scotsman from becoming, in 1776, after the publication of The Wealth of Nations, a major enlightener in this field of human knowledge. What are some of Hume's major contributions according to modern views? First, his analysis of the mechanism of how prices are influenced by monetary money flows largely refutes the mercantilist thinking that the state should always strive for a positive trade balance. Second, Hume's positive attitude toward manufactures and crafts exposes the limited views of the Physiocrats. Third, in discussing taxation, he initiated economists' consideration of the problems of personal and corporate income that resulted from taxation and customs. Whereas Hume's multi-volume History of England, published between 1754 and 1761, enjoyed some success among readers in the 18th century and gained financial independence, his philosophical and economic ideas seem to be more popular in modern times.