Principles of Political Economy, Vol. 1Roscher, Wilhelm
History
Principles of Political Economy, Vol. 1
Roscher, Wilhelm
Economics
It is by its division, that labor, considered as a factor of production,
is raised to the highest degree of efficiency. Its results in any given
industry are, therefore, more important in proportion as the element labor
predominates in it. Hence, these results are much smaller, in agriculture,
for instance, than in the trades, or in personal services.(362) The most
expert sower or harvester cannot be employed the whole year through in
sowing or harvesting. Some kind of rotation of crops, some kind of
combination of tillage and stock-raising is necessary to every
agriculturist. On this depends the importance of the technic secondary
industries of agriculture, which are, in principle, opposed to the
division of labor. Hence, too, almost any person engaged in a trade, no
matter of what kind, supposes a greater number of customers than a tiller
of the land of the same rank.
The more labor is divided, the greater is the amount of capital necessary
to it.(363) It may be even said, that all preparatory labor becomes
capital in its relation to subsequent labor. If ten isolated workmen can
produce ten dozen articles of any kind, daily, and, after the introduction
of a more efficient division of labor, fifty dozen, the employer must
provide them, in the latter case, not only with five times as much
capital, but probably with fifty times as much, as then, five hundred
dozen are making continually.
Section LX.
Influence Of The Extent Of The Market On The Division Of Labor.
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