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# Subsistence Necessity Priority

# Definition

The economic hierarchy where the production of basic necessities takes precedence over conveniences and luxuries in both temporal sequence and logical necessity. This priority determines the natural order of economic development and explains why agricultural improvement must always precede urban manufacturing.

## Source Chapter

Book III, Chapter 1

## Context

Smith establishes this as a fundamental principle of economic development, explaining why the production of necessities forms the foundation for all subsequent economic progress and why urban development cannot occur without first achieving agricultural surplus.

## Economic Domain

Production

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