---
entity_slug: expense_of_defence
evaluator: null
evaluated_at: '2026-02-23T05:25:20.397017'
overall_score: 4.0
scores:
- name: definition_precision
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: The definition is clear and specific, identifying both the scope (military
    forces for external protection) and temporal aspects (peacetime preparation and
    wartime employment). It avoids circularity and captures a distinct fiscal concept
    rather than a vague umbrella term.
- name: source_grounding
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity is directly grounded in Smith's text as the first of three
    sovereign duties explicitly outlined in Book V, Chapter 1. Smith dedicates substantial
    analysis to military expenditure across different stages of societal development,
    making this a core concept rather than an interpretive addition.
- name: domain_placement
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: The "Regulation" domain is appropriate since this concerns the sovereign's
    regulatory duty to provide defense as a public good. While it has fiscal dimensions,
    it fundamentally represents a regulatory function that markets cannot adequately
    provide.
- name: vsm_relevance
  value: 3.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity spans multiple VSM systems - it involves S1 (operational
    military forces), S3 (internal resource allocation), and S4 (environmental threat
    assessment). While relevant to VSM thinking, it doesn't map cleanly to a single
    system, making it somewhat diffuse for VSM analysis.
- name: explanatory_value
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity illuminates a fundamental structural mechanism in Smith's
    theory - how societies must allocate resources to defense and how this varies
    with economic development stages. It explains the relationship between economic
    organization and military capability rather than merely naming a surface phenomenon.
---

# Evaluation: Expense Of Defence

## definition_precision — 4.0 / 5.0

The definition is clear and specific, identifying both the scope (military forces for external protection) and temporal aspects (peacetime preparation and wartime employment). It avoids circularity and captures a distinct fiscal concept rather than a vague umbrella term.

## source_grounding — 5.0 / 5.0

This entity is directly grounded in Smith's text as the first of three sovereign duties explicitly outlined in Book V, Chapter 1. Smith dedicates substantial analysis to military expenditure across different stages of societal development, making this a core concept rather than an interpretive addition.

## domain_placement — 4.0 / 5.0

The "Regulation" domain is appropriate since this concerns the sovereign's regulatory duty to provide defense as a public good. While it has fiscal dimensions, it fundamentally represents a regulatory function that markets cannot adequately provide.

## vsm_relevance — 3.0 / 5.0

This entity spans multiple VSM systems - it involves S1 (operational military forces), S3 (internal resource allocation), and S4 (environmental threat assessment). While relevant to VSM thinking, it doesn't map cleanly to a single system, making it somewhat diffuse for VSM analysis.

## explanatory_value — 4.0 / 5.0

This entity illuminates a fundamental structural mechanism in Smith's theory - how societies must allocate resources to defense and how this varies with economic development stages. It explains the relationship between economic organization and military capability rather than merely naming a surface phenomenon.
