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# Agricultural Surplus Determination

## Definition

The economic calculation of the excess production remaining after cultivators have secured their own subsistence needs, which determines the scale of urban development possible in any society. This surplus represents the fundamental limit on economic progress beyond subsistence agriculture and forms the basis for all subsequent commercial development.

## Source Chapter

Book III, Chapter 1

## Context

Smith establishes this determination as the critical threshold that enables the transition from subsistence to commercial society, explaining why no urban development can occur without first achieving sufficient agricultural surplus to support non-agricultural populations.

## Economic Domain

Production

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