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# Mercantile System

## Definition

An economic doctrine that seeks to enrich the nation by promoting exports
and restricting imports, based on the belief that national wealth consists
of accumulated precious metals and that a favourable balance of trade is
essential for prosperity.

## Source Chapter

Book IV, Chapter 5

## Context

Smith presents the mercantile system as the intellectual framework that
justifies bounties and other trade restrictions. He systematically
criticizes its core assumptions about wealth creation and trade balance.

## Economic Domain

General Theory

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