854 B
854 B
Subsistence Industry Priority
Definition
The economic principle that industries producing basic necessities must develop before those producing conveniences and luxuries, both in 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