ABSTRACT
It is so iconic in fact that mention of the pin factory as an illustration of the division of labor still elicits knowing groans from any contemporary student of political economy. Smith shows how there exists not only a division of labor within the manufacturing process, but also a global division of labor, in which individual people and individual countries specialize in certain economic activities, thereby increasing global productivity and output. While Smith is optimistic about how the global division of labor might improve levels of well-being across the developed world, he elaborates certain pitfalls that might prevent the global division of labor from benefitting all members of society equally. As such, techniques for increasing the productivity of labor, and thereby the rate of exploitation of labor, is an essential tool for realizing profits in the context of the production process.
