: Smith famously wrote that we don't expect our dinner from the benevolence of these tradesmen, but from their regard to their own interest.
: By breaking the job into eighteen distinct steps, these ten men could produce nearly 48,000 pins in a single day—thousands more than they ever could have made alone. adam smith
: One man drew out the wire, another straightened it, a third cut it, and a fourth pointed it. : Smith famously wrote that we don't expect
: It wasn't out of "benevolence" or kindness that the butcher prepared the meat or the baker baked the bread. They did it to provide for their own families. : It wasn't out of "benevolence" or kindness
: Smith realized this division of labor was the engine of productivity. It allowed individuals to specialize, innovate, and collectively create wealth that benefited everyone. The Butcher, the Brewer, and the Baker
But Smith wasn't just a man of numbers; he was a philosopher fascinated by the invisible threads that hold a society together. Here is a story of how his most famous ideas came to life: The Secret of the Pin Factory