Hello everyone! And welcome to my summer series of reviews on Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations." This is probably going to be one of the most challenging reviews I have done. So far, I have reviewed [The Art of War (2016)](https://steemit.com/reviews/@cmp2020/the-statistics-of-my-art-of-war-review), and [The Confucian Analects (2018)](https://steemit.com/reviews/@cmp2020/the-statistics-of-my-commentaries-on-the-confucian-analects). This is definitely going to be a challenging yet fun series! So, let's get into my first review!
Here is my review and commentary on **Book 1, Chapter 1: *"of the Division of Labour"***:
https://s23.postimg.org/dwjiujw7f/library_488677_1920.jpg
*[Image Source: pixabay.com, License: CCO Public Domain]*
*Text Source, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith*
### Book 1, Chapter 1: *"of the Division of Labour"*
I feel that the first statement made by Smith in this chapter really summarizes what the chapter will cover nicely, so I've decided to include it below.
>*”THE GREATEST improvement in the productive powers of labour, and the greater part of the skill, dexterity, and judgement with which it is any where directed, or applied, seem to have been the effects of the division of labour.”* - Book 1, Chapter 1, Page 9
Before I show my notes and thoughts on Smith's ideas, I'd like to say that Division of Labor is even demonstrated in Steem. It is demonstrated in curation guilds such as @curie, or programming teams which work together to enhance the blockchain, such as Steemit inc. A division of labor is what allows for ideas such as blockchain to function.
Smith makes an important point that the effects of the division of labor vary depending on the manner in which the labor is divided and the field on which the labor is being divided. For example, it is much more necessary to divide labor when working to produce a car than it is when working to produce a sandwich. There is not an absence of divided labor in making a sandwich (I.E. Someone grew lettuce for you to buy), but there is much more divided labor in making a car than in making a sandwich.
#### Smaller Businesses and Divided Labor
This method is most effective amongst smaller business due to the fact that these businesses have a smaller number of people to satisfy, and hence have a smaller number of workers. Due to this fact, the workers can be dispersed on the small task that their business needs to fulfill, and these workers can easily be observed and managed due to their small number. It is in this environment that the Division of Labor is most effective.
Smith gives the example of a pin maker’s trade. He talks about how one man performing all of the tasks (without necessary machines) would be secluded to only one pin a day made. However, as Smith put it *”One man draws out the wire, another straights it, a third cuts it, a fourth points it, a fifth grinds it at the top for receiving the head; to make the head requires two or three distinct operations. . . in this manner, divided into about eighteen distinct operations, which, in some manufactories, are all performed by distinct hands, though in others the same man will sometimes perform two or three of them.”* - Book 1, Chapter 1, Page 11
This is not just the division of labor, but also the division of education. Smith talks about how he saw a factory where 10 workers produced 48,000 pins in a day (which he pointed out meant that each worker was effectively making 4,800 pins in a day). He made the point that these workers would not succeed without the knowledge and experience of the other 9 because they only know what they were taught, and each task in making one pin is, as Smith put it, “peculiar.” This demonstrates the importance of dividing the labor in a way that is efficient, but also easy to combine.
#### Larger Businesses and the Division of Labor
In larger manufacturers, meant to fulfill the need of a great body of people, the number of people in each branch is so vast that it is impossible to get all these people together in the same work place. However, in this environment, the work can be divided into a much larger number of parts than can be effectively done by smaller businesses. But this division is a lot harder to observe due to the larger work force. When I read this in Smith, I thought about the effects the internet has on this. Now, in some industries, the workplace can be the internet, and it is possible to work a large number of people into a picture as a result of this. For example, my dad works with a large number of people in other countries due to the internet. Ideas such as bitcoin also make it easier to monitor and manage work amongst large numbers of people. So long as labor can be divided, an industry will almost certainly see a large increase in their productive powers.
#### Separation of Trade
As a result of this, you will see a similar divisions between trades and employments in an advanced society. Smith states that *”What is the work of one man in a rude state of society, being generally that of several in an improved one.”* - Book 1, Chapter 1, Page 12 In an improved society, the farmer only needs to farm to survive. Due to the work done by others in the society. As Smith said,
>*”How many different trades are employed in each branch of the linen and woolen manufactures. . .”* - Book 1, Chapter 1, Page 12
It is also important to note that because of this "interdependence," a lot more can be produced at a much more qualitative level. For example, [here is a video about interdependence in modern pencil production](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwHvizPqpWI).
#### Agriculture and Industry
Smith speaks of how an improvement in agriculture leads to an improvement in industry. And though we may notice a great amount of skill and progress in industry within a wealthy nation, that nation must have also progressed agriculturally. Smith makes the point that the superiority of a country may not necessarily be due to a surge in work effort or production agriculturally. It is manufacturing capabilities that draws the line between a rich and poor country. Smith states
>*”The silks of France are better and cheaper than those of England, because the silk manufacture, at least under the present high duties upon the importation of raw silk, does not so well suit the climate of England as that of France. But the hardware and the coarse woollens of England are beyond all comparison superior to those of France, and much cheaper too in the same degree of goodness. In Poland there are said to be scarce any manufactures of any kind, a few of those coarser household manufactures excepted, without which no country can well subsist.”* - Book 1, Chapter 1, Page 13 – 14
This was really embodied by the first industrial revolution which occurred after Smith's time. A surge in agriculture allowed countries such as Britain focus on industrializing. As a result of this, industrial tools such as the railroad were created and furthered production efficiency.
#### Causes of an Increase in Production
The increase in production can be attributed to three factors (1) an increase in dexterity amongst workers, (2) the time saved through division of labor, and (3) the invention of machines which can allow one man to do the work of multiple men.
###### Dexterity
The dexterity of one man increases greatly when the division of labor leaves him with one simple operation to fulfill. This allows him to focus all of his energy on one task and creates a larger amount of quality of work in what he produces.
###### Saved Time
The division of labor as well as separation of trade allows for a great amount of time to be saved in production because the industry can focus on producing one product to pass on to the next industry, rather than fulfilling all productions.
###### Machines
Smith makes the point that an increase in machines could be attributed also to the division of labor, which required that one man perform one task as fast as possible. The men doing these tasks find ways to make these go faster, creating machines on their own in order to increase efficiency. Smith gave an example, and wrote
>*”In the first fire-engines, a boy was constantly employed to open and shut alternately the communication between the boiler and the cylinder, according as the piston either ascended or descended. One of those boys, who loved to play with his companions, observed that, by tying a string from the handle of the valve which opened this communication to another part of the machine, the valve would open and shut without his assistance, and leave him at liberty to divert himself with his playfellows. One of the greatest improvements that has been made upon this machine, since it was first invented, was in this manner the discovery of a boy who wanted to save his own labour.”* - Book 1, Chapter 1, Page 17
#### The Symbiotic Relationship Amongst Workmen
Smith then speaks of how a workman will perform tasks that the industry needs done, and, as a result of this work, he and other workmen may use what they earn to buy something that others produced in a similar fashion. He embodies this in the statement
>*"The woollen coat, for example, which covers the day-labourer, as coarse and rough as it may appear, is the produce of the joint labour of a great multitude of workmen.”* - Book 1, Chapter 1, Page 19
#### Conclusion
Smith ends by speaking of other examples of industries which depend on others to function. Listing examples such as the sailor’s ship, the fuller’s mill, or the weaver’s loom.
### Previous Reviews
#### The Wealth of Nations
###### **Book 1**
- [Chapter 1: "of the Division of Labor"](https://steemit.com/economics/@cmp2020/adam-smith-on-capitalism-my-review-of-the-wealth-of-nations-book-1-chapter-1-of-the-division-of-labour)
#### The Confucian Analects
- [Table of Contents and Statistics](https://steemit.com/reviews/@cmp2020/the-statistics-of-my-commentaries-on-the-confucian-analects)
#### The Art of War
- [Table of Contents and Statistics](https://steemit.com/reviews/@cmp2020/the-statistics-of-my-art-of-war-review)
### Schedule (hopefully)
Friday - Tuesday: "The Wealth of Nations" review
Wednesday: Break/Free write day
Thursday: Weekly7
### Closing
Thanks for reading this! I hope you enjoyed this review and will comeback tomorrow to read the next one. In this section, Smith really embodied values that I feel cryptocurrency demonstrates in modern times. Please remember that feedback is always appreciated! See you later!
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Also remember to check for: My weekly 7 post, As well as my composer birthday posts (Note) In order to encourage meaningful feedback on the platform, I will check comment trails of users who leave superficial comments (ie "Awesome post," or "Upvoted.") and will mute any users who exhibit a pattern of leaving "spammy" comments.