---
entity_slug: military_defense_expense
evaluator: null
evaluated_at: '2026-02-23T05:52:25.440602'
overall_score: 4.2
scores:
- name: definition_precision
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: The definition clearly specifies what constitutes military defense expense
    (armed forces, naval forces, war expenditures) and identifies the key asymmetry
    that the mother country bears costs while colonies receive benefits. It avoids
    circularity and captures a distinct economic concept with measurable components.
- name: source_grounding
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This concept is directly grounded in Smith's analysis in Book IV, Chapter
    7, where he extensively discusses the costs of colonial defense and argues that
    Britain bears disproportionate military expenses relative to the benefits received
    from colonial trade monopolies.
- name: domain_placement
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: '"Regulation" is appropriate since this involves government policy decisions
    about resource allocation and colonial administration. However, it could also
    fit in a "Public Finance" or "Imperial Economics" domain, as it fundamentally
    concerns fiscal burdens and imperial cost-benefit analysis.'
- name: vsm_relevance
  value: 3.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity has moderate VSM relevance, primarily mapping to S1 (operational
    costs of maintaining empire) and S4 (environmental threats requiring defensive
    response). However, it's more of a cost category than a systemic function, making
    the VSM mapping somewhat forced.
- name: explanatory_value
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity provides crucial explanatory power for Smith's critique of
    mercantilism by quantifying the hidden costs of empire that offset supposed benefits
    from colonial monopolies. It illuminates the structural mechanism by which imperial
    systems create fiscal burdens that undermine their purported advantages.
---

# Evaluation: Military Defense Expense

## definition_precision — 4.0 / 5.0

The definition clearly specifies what constitutes military defense expense (armed forces, naval forces, war expenditures) and identifies the key asymmetry that the mother country bears costs while colonies receive benefits. It avoids circularity and captures a distinct economic concept with measurable components.

## source_grounding — 5.0 / 5.0

This concept is directly grounded in Smith's analysis in Book IV, Chapter 7, where he extensively discusses the costs of colonial defense and argues that Britain bears disproportionate military expenses relative to the benefits received from colonial trade monopolies.

## domain_placement — 4.0 / 5.0

"Regulation" is appropriate since this involves government policy decisions about resource allocation and colonial administration. However, it could also fit in a "Public Finance" or "Imperial Economics" domain, as it fundamentally concerns fiscal burdens and imperial cost-benefit analysis.

## vsm_relevance — 3.0 / 5.0

This entity has moderate VSM relevance, primarily mapping to S1 (operational costs of maintaining empire) and S4 (environmental threats requiring defensive response). However, it's more of a cost category than a systemic function, making the VSM mapping somewhat forced.

## explanatory_value — 5.0 / 5.0

This entity provides crucial explanatory power for Smith's critique of mercantilism by quantifying the hidden costs of empire that offset supposed benefits from colonial monopolies. It illuminates the structural mechanism by which imperial systems create fiscal burdens that undermine their purported advantages.
