Final answer:
The subject focuses on the mercantilist economic system, a historical concept where wealth is created through the accumulation of precious metals like gold and silver, which bolstered a country's wealth and power during the absolutist era.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to the economic system called mercantilism, which was prevalent during the absolutist era. Mercantilism is characterized by the belief that wealth can be created and accumulated, primarily through the collection of precious metals like gold and silver. As currency was made up of these metals, the acquisition of more gold and silver meant that a monarch or country became wealthier and more powerful.
In a mercantilist economic system, wealth is not evenly distributed among producers and consumers. Instead, the wealth and power are concentrated in the hands of the ruling authority, often the monarch, to strengthen the state's economy and power. Responses to the issues of poverty and inequality at the beginning of the 19th century included various political philosophies, but they commonly advocated for social ownership of the means of production by the people as opposed to a laissez-faire economy or other forms of government intervention.