How does mercantilism differ from capitalism, or the free enterprise system?

Mercantilism is the name given to a set of economic practices developed in Europe in the Modern Age, between the fifteenth century and the end of the eighteenth century. Mercantilism originated a set of diverse economic measures according to the States. It was characterized by a strong state intervention in the economy. The goal was to make profit for the government or monarch. It consisted of a series of measures aimed at unifying the internal market and aimed at the formation of strong national states. It is possible to distinguish three main models: favorable trade balance, colonial pact and protectionism.

Capitalism, on the other hand, is an economic system and an ideology based on the private property. The central features of this system include, in addition to private property, capital accumulation, wage labor, voluntary exchange, a price system based on demand and supply, and competitive markets. Free enterprise is a kind of economy where services, prices, products, and services are determined by the market, the government is supposed to stay out of it completely.

Free enterprise is based on equal treatment of all workers, while merchantism allows women to earn lower wages than men.