Adam Smith states the best thing to happen to the production of labor is the effects of the division of labor. The division of labor is self explanatory, but let's just pretends it isn't. Basically you have a product, say for instance, a hat pin. This hat pin is used to hold your hat in place. The process of making a hat pin has approximately 9-10 steps. These many steps involved different tools and most important, a clean work space. A craftsman could make about a couple of pins a day at his little shop along with wasting hours cleaning his work table. Although, if you were to split each step up with its individual workstations and perhaps have someone carry unfinished products to each station, you would speed up the process of pin making. In addition, you would also allow each worker at each work station to be more skilled each time he does his task, allowing fewer mistakes, if any. Each worker works less and gains more, do to the fact that more pins are being produced in less time.
Let's drive the division of labor idea home with another example, "THE COAT" which is worn by the workingman. This product is also very labor intensive if made by one person. Again we break the coat making process down into about 11-13 steps. We first have the shepherd, who takes care of the sheep. Then, there's the sorter, who sorts the different type of wool. Then we have the wool comber, who combs the wool. After that is the dyer, who makes the wool into all sorts of lovely shades of grey. Then on to the scribbler, who cleans, sorts again and collects the wool. Then the wool must be spun by the spinner. Then weaved together, probably into wool cloth. Then it's weight by the fuller, cause that what a fuller does. And then to the dresser, which turns the wool cloth into a fashionable item, instead of wearing a blanket to work. THE END! Wait a minute!.
What about the transportation of the coat, and who bought the wool from the shepherd? And where did the dye come from? And where is the workingman getting the money to buy the coat from?.
