851 B
851 B
Progressive Wealth Consequentiality
Definition
The principle that in undisturbed natural economic development, the growth of towns follows necessarily and proportionally from the improvement and cultivation of surrounding rural areas. Without artificial interference, urban wealth increases only as agricultural surplus increases, maintaining the natural balance between town and country economies.
Source Chapter
Book III, Chapter 1
Context
Smith presents this as the expected outcome in societies where human institutions do not interfere with natural economic inclinations, contrasting it with the artificial development patterns observed in modern European states.
Economic Domain
General Theory