28 lines
820 B
Markdown
28 lines
820 B
Markdown
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<!-- generated: provider=openrouter model=arcee-ai/trinity-large-preview:free date=2026-02-19 source=book-3-chapter-04 -->
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# Retainers and Dependents System
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## Definition
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The pre-commercial social structure where great landowners maintained large
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numbers of followers and dependents who received subsistence directly from the
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landowner's bounty, creating a system of obligation and power based on the
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landowner's ability to consume surplus agricultural produce locally.
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## Source Chapter
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Book III, Chapter 4
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## Context
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Smith describes this as the feudal system where landowners had nothing to
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exchange their surplus produce for, so they consumed it through maintaining
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retainers, creating a power structure based on direct subsistence provision
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rather than market exchange.
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## Economic Domain
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Distribution
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---
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