---
entity_slug: alien_merchant_duties
evaluator: null
evaluated_at: '2026-02-23T00:32:46.017309'
overall_score: 4.2
scores:
- name: definition_precision
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: The definition clearly distinguishes alien merchant duties from general
    tariffs by specifying they target foreign merchants operating within domestic
    borders, with a clear protective purpose. The concept is well-bounded and non-circular,
    though it could be slightly more precise about the mechanisms of these duties.
- name: source_grounding
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This concept aligns well with Smith's extensive discussion of mercantile
    policies and protectionist measures in Book IV, Chapter 3, where he critiques
    various restrictions on foreign trade. Smith does address how domestic merchants
    secure advantages through government policy, making this a legitimate extraction
    from the source material.
- name: domain_placement
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: '"Regulation" is the perfect domain placement for this entity, as alien
    merchant duties are fundamentally regulatory instruments used by governments to
    control and restrict foreign commercial activity. This fits squarely within the
    regulatory apparatus Smith analyzes.'
- name: vsm_relevance
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity maps naturally to S3 (internal regulation) as it represents
    the regulatory mechanisms a nation uses to control its internal commercial environment.
    It also has some relevance to S4 (intelligence/adaptation) as these duties reflect
    how a system responds to perceived external competitive threats.
- name: explanatory_value
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: The entity illuminates a specific mechanism of mercantile protection
    that Smith critiques, showing how regulatory instruments create artificial advantages
    for domestic interests. It reveals the structural relationship between government
    policy, merchant interests, and consumer welfare that is central to Smith's analysis.
---

# Evaluation: Alien Merchant Duties

## definition_precision — 4.0 / 5.0

The definition clearly distinguishes alien merchant duties from general tariffs by specifying they target foreign merchants operating within domestic borders, with a clear protective purpose. The concept is well-bounded and non-circular, though it could be slightly more precise about the mechanisms of these duties.

## source_grounding — 4.0 / 5.0

This concept aligns well with Smith's extensive discussion of mercantile policies and protectionist measures in Book IV, Chapter 3, where he critiques various restrictions on foreign trade. Smith does address how domestic merchants secure advantages through government policy, making this a legitimate extraction from the source material.

## domain_placement — 5.0 / 5.0

"Regulation" is the perfect domain placement for this entity, as alien merchant duties are fundamentally regulatory instruments used by governments to control and restrict foreign commercial activity. This fits squarely within the regulatory apparatus Smith analyzes.

## vsm_relevance — 4.0 / 5.0

This entity maps naturally to S3 (internal regulation) as it represents the regulatory mechanisms a nation uses to control its internal commercial environment. It also has some relevance to S4 (intelligence/adaptation) as these duties reflect how a system responds to perceived external competitive threats.

## explanatory_value — 4.0 / 5.0

The entity illuminates a specific mechanism of mercantile protection that Smith critiques, showing how regulatory instruments create artificial advantages for domestic interests. It reveals the structural relationship between government policy, merchant interests, and consumer welfare that is central to Smith's analysis.
