Abstract: The "commercial society" emerged and developed gradually in the early modern age. It was in the context that people had updated their understanding of commerce as a new mode of production along with a new life style. It was best captured and implied by the metaphor of "Lady Commerce". Being capricious, jealous and unpredictable, the nature of commerce lies in its direct association with the metaphor, especially in terms of the global liquidity of industrial and commercial capital, as well as the unprecedented challenges posed by "capriciousness" and "global liquidity" to the governance of modern states. It is in tackling the grave challenges brought by "Lady Commerce" that political economics has taken shape as a fresh pattern of knowledge and discourse of state governance. Emerging economies like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom have come to the forefront and the reasons for their rise and shine are discussed in depth, while the relationship between commerce and liberty has also been systematically examined.

Key words: commerce, liberty, political economics, state governance