Towards Perpetual Peace shows that Kant had high expectations of international trade. Praising the beneficial effects of the ‘spirit of commerce’, he conjectures that it may contribute to peaceful international relations.
In spite of this positive prognosis, more detailed remarks on international commerce are scarce in the remainder of the ‘Guarantee of perpetual peace’. Because of this, it is unclear how to interpret Kant’s positive evaluation of international trade. Does he believe that the market economy will inevitably bring about an increase of prosperity and peace? Or does he acknowledge that there may be unfair or exploitative forms of commerce? If so, how does he distinguish between the two? And how do beneficial trade relations take form in the international state of nature, which is at best provisionally just?
Earlier on in Towards Perpetual Peace Kant implicitly hints at answers to (some of) these questions. In the essay’s ‘Third definitive article’, he presents a critique of the colonialist and imperialist practices that trading companies engage in. As such, Kant clearly affirms that there are objectionable forms of international commerce. His critical remarks in Towards Perpetual Peace thus presuppose a normative theory of international migration and commerce. This paper attempts to make this theory explicit.
