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# Commercial Society Formation

## Definition

The development of social and economic structures characterized by specialized labor, market exchange, and commercial relationships that replace earlier forms of economic organization based on self-sufficiency, feudal obligations, or simple barter.

## Source Chapter

Book IV, Chapter 3

## Context

Smith discusses how commercial society creates new forms of economic interdependence and requires different principles of governance than earlier social forms, particularly in managing international trade relationships.

## Economic Domain

General Theory

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