---
entity_slug: market_price_mechanism
evaluator: null
evaluated_at: '2026-02-23T05:47:02.975745'
overall_score: 4.6
scores:
- name: definition_precision
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: The definition clearly captures the automatic adjustment process that
    balances supply and demand without central coordination. It's precise about the
    mechanism's function and Smith's view that government intervention disrupts it,
    though it could be slightly more specific about how prices actually adjust.
- name: source_grounding
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This concept is deeply grounded in Smith's actual text, particularly
    his discussion of how natural prices emerge through market forces and his critique
    of mercantile policies that distort price signals. Book IV, Chapter 2 specifically
    addresses how trade restrictions interfere with natural price mechanisms.
- name: domain_placement
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: '"Exchange" is the perfect domain for this entity, as the price mechanism
    is fundamentally about how buyers and sellers coordinate through price signals
    in market transactions. This is the core process that enables efficient exchange
    relationships.'
- name: vsm_relevance
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity maps well to S2 (coordination/anti-oscillation) as it describes
    how prices coordinate economic activity and prevent resource allocation conflicts.
    It also has elements of S3 (internal regulation) in how it maintains market equilibrium
    through feedback loops.
- name: explanatory_value
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity provides excellent explanatory power by illuminating the
    fundamental mechanism through which decentralized markets coordinate complex economic
    activity. It explains both how coordination occurs naturally and why government
    intervention can disrupt this process.
---

# Evaluation: Market Price Mechanism

## definition_precision — 4.0 / 5.0

The definition clearly captures the automatic adjustment process that balances supply and demand without central coordination. It's precise about the mechanism's function and Smith's view that government intervention disrupts it, though it could be slightly more specific about how prices actually adjust.

## source_grounding — 5.0 / 5.0

This concept is deeply grounded in Smith's actual text, particularly his discussion of how natural prices emerge through market forces and his critique of mercantile policies that distort price signals. Book IV, Chapter 2 specifically addresses how trade restrictions interfere with natural price mechanisms.

## domain_placement — 5.0 / 5.0

"Exchange" is the perfect domain for this entity, as the price mechanism is fundamentally about how buyers and sellers coordinate through price signals in market transactions. This is the core process that enables efficient exchange relationships.

## vsm_relevance — 4.0 / 5.0

This entity maps well to S2 (coordination/anti-oscillation) as it describes how prices coordinate economic activity and prevent resource allocation conflicts. It also has elements of S3 (internal regulation) in how it maintains market equilibrium through feedback loops.

## explanatory_value — 5.0 / 5.0

This entity provides excellent explanatory power by illuminating the fundamental mechanism through which decentralized markets coordinate complex economic activity. It explains both how coordination occurs naturally and why government intervention can disrupt this process.
