---
entity_slug: home_trade
evaluator: null
evaluated_at: '2026-02-23T05:35:02.311952'
overall_score: 4.2
scores:
- name: definition_precision
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: The definition clearly distinguishes home trade from foreign trade by
    specifying it occurs within a single country's borders, and includes helpful subcategories
    (inland and coasting trade). The concept is distinct and well-bounded, though
    it could be slightly more precise about what constitutes "a country" in Smith's
    context.
- name: source_grounding
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity is directly grounded in Book II, Chapter 5 where Smith explicitly
    discusses home trade and its advantages over foreign trade. The context accurately
    reflects Smith's argument that home trade "replaces two distinct capitals employed
    in domestic industry" and provides the greatest encouragement to productive labor.
- name: domain_placement
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: The "Exchange" domain is perfectly appropriate for home trade, as it
    fundamentally concerns the mechanisms and patterns of exchanging goods within
    an economy. This is clearly a concept about how exchange systems operate rather
    than production, consumption, or regulation.
- name: vsm_relevance
  value: 3.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: Home trade has some VSM relevance as it relates to S1 (primary operations
    of economic activity) and potentially S2 (coordination between different regional
    markets). However, it's more of a descriptive category of economic activity rather
    than a clear cybernetic function or control mechanism.
- name: explanatory_value
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity provides significant explanatory value by illuminating Smith's
    theory of why domestic trade is superior to foreign trade in terms of capital
    replacement and labor encouragement. It reveals an important structural relationship
    in Smith's economic theory about the relative benefits of different forms of commerce.
---

# Evaluation: Home Trade

## definition_precision — 4.0 / 5.0

The definition clearly distinguishes home trade from foreign trade by specifying it occurs within a single country's borders, and includes helpful subcategories (inland and coasting trade). The concept is distinct and well-bounded, though it could be slightly more precise about what constitutes "a country" in Smith's context.

## source_grounding — 5.0 / 5.0

This entity is directly grounded in Book II, Chapter 5 where Smith explicitly discusses home trade and its advantages over foreign trade. The context accurately reflects Smith's argument that home trade "replaces two distinct capitals employed in domestic industry" and provides the greatest encouragement to productive labor.

## domain_placement — 5.0 / 5.0

The "Exchange" domain is perfectly appropriate for home trade, as it fundamentally concerns the mechanisms and patterns of exchanging goods within an economy. This is clearly a concept about how exchange systems operate rather than production, consumption, or regulation.

## vsm_relevance — 3.0 / 5.0

Home trade has some VSM relevance as it relates to S1 (primary operations of economic activity) and potentially S2 (coordination between different regional markets). However, it's more of a descriptive category of economic activity rather than a clear cybernetic function or control mechanism.

## explanatory_value — 4.0 / 5.0

This entity provides significant explanatory value by illuminating Smith's theory of why domestic trade is superior to foreign trade in terms of capital replacement and labor encouragement. It reveals an important structural relationship in Smith's economic theory about the relative benefits of different forms of commerce.
