---
entity_slug: entail
evaluator: null
evaluated_at: '2026-02-23T05:23:28.329411'
overall_score: 4.8
scores:
- name: definition_precision
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: The definition is highly precise and non-circular, clearly distinguishing
    entails as a specific legal mechanism that restricts property alienation through
    inheritance constraints. It captures the distinct concept of binding property
    to family lines rather than using vague terminology.
- name: source_grounding
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity is directly grounded in Smith's actual analysis in Book III,
    Chapter 2, where he explicitly discusses entails as consequences of primogeniture
    and critiques their economic effects. The definition accurately reflects Smith's
    treatment of entails as both historically rational and contemporaneously problematic.
- name: domain_placement
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: The "Regulation" domain placement is perfectly appropriate, as entails
    represent legal-institutional constraints on property markets and land use. This
    fits squarely within regulatory mechanisms that shape economic behavior through
    legal restrictions.
- name: vsm_relevance
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: Entails map well to S3 (internal regulation) as institutional constraints
    that govern property allocation within the economic system, and potentially to
    S2 as coordination mechanisms that prevent certain market oscillations. The regulatory
    nature gives it clear VSM relevance rather than being abstractly neutral.
- name: explanatory_value
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity provides substantial explanatory power by illuminating the
    structural mechanism through which legal institutions constrain efficient resource
    allocation and market function. It reveals how historical institutional forms
    can persist beyond their functional utility and impede economic development.
---

# Evaluation: Entail

## definition_precision — 5.0 / 5.0

The definition is highly precise and non-circular, clearly distinguishing entails as a specific legal mechanism that restricts property alienation through inheritance constraints. It captures the distinct concept of binding property to family lines rather than using vague terminology.

## source_grounding — 5.0 / 5.0

This entity is directly grounded in Smith's actual analysis in Book III, Chapter 2, where he explicitly discusses entails as consequences of primogeniture and critiques their economic effects. The definition accurately reflects Smith's treatment of entails as both historically rational and contemporaneously problematic.

## domain_placement — 5.0 / 5.0

The "Regulation" domain placement is perfectly appropriate, as entails represent legal-institutional constraints on property markets and land use. This fits squarely within regulatory mechanisms that shape economic behavior through legal restrictions.

## vsm_relevance — 4.0 / 5.0

Entails map well to S3 (internal regulation) as institutional constraints that govern property allocation within the economic system, and potentially to S2 as coordination mechanisms that prevent certain market oscillations. The regulatory nature gives it clear VSM relevance rather than being abstractly neutral.

## explanatory_value — 5.0 / 5.0

This entity provides substantial explanatory power by illuminating the structural mechanism through which legal institutions constrain efficient resource allocation and market function. It reveals how historical institutional forms can persist beyond their functional utility and impede economic development.