ABSTRACT
Labour has been defined as a conscious moral act performed by man as a result of his ability to reason out the problems of life. Man's labour then stands on a different footing from all other kinds of labour. In order to get the best crops out of land many varieties of labour must be put forth by man. Modern farming practice makes demands on the scientist, the inventor, the engineer, and a number of other people, as well as on the farmer and the labourers who do the actual cultivation of the soil. The Physiocrats spent considerable effort in defining productive and unproductive labour. What is now classed as productive labour by competent economic thought gives the best definition of the labour force of a given community. The early English economists reconsidered the subject and had little difficulty in adding the work of those engaged in manufacturing industries to this class of productive labour.
