22 lines
886 B
Markdown
22 lines
886 B
Markdown
<!-- generated: provider=openrouter model=arcee-ai/trinity-large-preview:free date=2026-02-19 source=book-4-chapter-01 -->
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# Gold and Silver as Measure of Value
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## Definition
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The function of precious metals serving as a standard for comparing the worth of different commodities in economic transactions. This role, combined with their use as medium of exchange, creates the popular but mistaken belief that wealth consists in money rather than in the goods and services money can purchase.
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## Source Chapter
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Book IV, Chapter 1
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## Context
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Smith identifies this dual function of money as the psychological root of the mercantile system. Because people use gold and silver to measure value and facilitate exchange, they naturally come to equate these metals with wealth itself, leading to the misguided policies that dominate mercantile thinking.
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## Economic Domain
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Exchange
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---
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