29 lines
871 B
Markdown
29 lines
871 B
Markdown
<!-- generated: provider=openrouter model=arcee-ai/trinity-large-preview:free date=2026-02-19 source=book-3-chapter-04 -->
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# Diamond Buckles Metaphor
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## Definition
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Smith's illustration of how commercial wealth transforms aristocratic spending
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from maintaining large numbers of dependents to purchasing trivial luxury goods,
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showing that for the gratification of childish vanity, great proprietors
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bartered their whole power and authority for frivolous items that provided
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exclusive personal consumption.
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## Source Chapter
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Book III, Chapter 4
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## Context
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Used to demonstrate how the introduction of commerce gave landowners a method
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of consuming their entire rent themselves without sharing it, leading them to
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exchange the maintenance of 1000 men for a year for personal luxury items,
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thereby destroying their political power.
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## Economic Domain
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Consumption
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---
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