The Division of Labour
I read the first chapter of the first book of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, which talks about the division of labour in a society.
He chiefly argues that the division of labour results in a huge boost for productivity in industrial nations for three reasons: an increase in dexterity (skill, speed, experience) of the worker, a saving in time and the invention of machines which enable a person to do the work of many.
The increase in dexterity he argues results because the person doing the work can acquire skills and experience quickly and more readily. The saving in time because the switching from one part of a process to another takes a lot of time, and breaks up the flow of concentration of the worker. The invention of machines, because machines obviously increase work, but also because breaking down a process into simple parts makes it that much easier to invent new and better ways of making that part.
There's a lovely story of a boy who wanted to save himself some time that illustrates the final point. The boy was hired to open and close the connection valve between the cylinder and a piston on a fire engine based on which way the piston was moving (ascending or descending). He worked out that by connecting one piece of string between the valve and another part of the machine, the valve would automatically open and close at the right time.
He chiefly argues that the division of labour results in a huge boost for productivity in industrial nations for three reasons: an increase in dexterity (skill, speed, experience) of the worker, a saving in time and the invention of machines which enable a person to do the work of many.
The increase in dexterity he argues results because the person doing the work can acquire skills and experience quickly and more readily. The saving in time because the switching from one part of a process to another takes a lot of time, and breaks up the flow of concentration of the worker. The invention of machines, because machines obviously increase work, but also because breaking down a process into simple parts makes it that much easier to invent new and better ways of making that part.
There's a lovely story of a boy who wanted to save himself some time that illustrates the final point. The boy was hired to open and close the connection valve between the cylinder and a piston on a fire engine based on which way the piston was moving (ascending or descending). He worked out that by connecting one piece of string between the valve and another part of the machine, the valve would automatically open and close at the right time.