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# Merchant

## Definition

An individual who engages in buying and selling goods, which Smith argues every person becomes in some measure in a commercial society due to the division of labour and the necessity of exchange.

## Source Chapter

Book I, Chapter 4

## Context

Smith observes that in a commercial society, every individual becomes a merchant to some degree, as they must engage in exchange to obtain goods they need but do not produce themselves, making commerce the fundamental social activity.

## Economic Domain

Exchange

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