Chapter 4 Chapter 3 Market Size Limits Division of Labor

Since the division of labor originated from exchange, what limits the degree of division of labor is the size of the exchange capacity.In other words, the breadth and narrowness of the market limits the degree of division of labor.If the market is too small, people cannot use the surplus of their own labor products to exchange for the surplus of other people's labor products they need, so they will not engage in a certain occupation for life. Some businesses can only be operated in the metropolis, even some of the most common businesses, such as moving.Because there is no need for specialized porters in small villages, and ordinary cities cannot guarantee continuous job opportunities.In the desolate and sparsely populated Scottish Highlands, no matter which country farmer he is, he has to do many jobs for his family, such as butcher, baker, and brewer.You'd hardly find two blacksmiths, carpenters, or plasterers in that kind of place, even within twenty miles.Those scattered families are at least eight or nine miles away from the craftsmen, so they have to do many small things by themselves.And in a big city with a lot of people and busy, people will definitely hire professional workers to help with those little things.

It is everywhere in the countryside that one man simultaneously carries on several trades which are of a similar nature and thus employ the same materials.All wooden items can be made by rural carpenters; all iron items can be made by rural blacksmiths.In addition to being a carpenter, a rural carpenter is also a joiner such as a carver, a cabinetmaker, or even a wheel maker, a plow maker, a two-wheeled or four-wheeled truck maker... The work of a blacksmith is more important than that of a carpenter. For complicated.In such a remote interior as the Scottish Highlands, it is impossible for a man to make a living by making iron nails.Because there, even if he worked three hundred days a year, made a thousand nails a day, and made three hundred thousand nails a year, his annual sales would not exceed the amount of one day's manufacturing. Can't sell a thousand nails.

The market opened up by water transport is much wider than that opened up by land transport.Therefore, for a long time, the division of labor and improvement of various industries have naturally started from the coast and along the river.It often takes a long time for this kind of improvement to be popularized in the interior. Now, it takes two people and eight horses to drive a wide-spoke four-wheeled truck loaded with about four tons of goods, and it takes a total of six weeks to go back and forth between London and Edinburgh.But, by water, six or eight men can steer a ship of two hundred tons, and travel between London and Leeds in the same amount of time.Therefore, what requires a hundred men, four hundred horses, and fifty wagons to carry by land can easily be carried by six or eight men if transported by water.In addition, to transport two hundred tons of goods from London to Edinburgh, calculated at the lowest freight rate, would at least cover the living expenses of a hundred men for three weeks, the maintenance of four hundred horses and fifty carts, plus The consumption is almost equal to the maintenance fee, and all the expenses add up, which must be a high shipping fee.However, what the water transport has to bear is the living expenses of six to eight people, the consumption cost of the cargo ship, and the high water transport insurance premium which is quite different from the land transport insurance premium.Therefore, if there is no other method of transportation between the two cities except land transportation, then only those items that are light in weight and expensive in price can circulate between the two cities.In this way, there is only this small part of the current business between the two places, and the mutual stimulation needed for the industrial development of the two places can only be provided by this small part of the business.If there is only land transportation in the world, then commercial activities cannot be carried out between those remote areas.Overland freight from London to Calcutta is so high that no cargo can afford it.Even if there were goods to bear the cost, there was no means of conveying them in safety, for the intervening territories were inhabited by many barbarous peoples.Water transport was free from these restrictions, and today a great deal of trade is carried on between the two cities, which supply each other with markets and strongly encourage the development of each other's industries.

The great convenience of water transportation makes the improvement of crafts and industries naturally originate in places where water transportation is convenient, and it takes a long time before it can be popularized in the interior.Because the mainland is isolated from rivers and seas, most of its products can only be sold in nearby places. Therefore, in a long period of time, the sales of goods must be proportional to the wealth and population of the nearby places. As a result, the pace of its improvement always falls behind Behind the neighborhood.For example, in the British colonies in North America, large plantations were developed along the coast and river banks, and the colonial area was rarely extended to areas far away from water transportation.

According to the most reliable historical records, the countries along the Mediterranean Sea were the earliest to be civilized.The Mediterranean Sea is the largest inland sea today, without tides and terrible waves, only wind and waves.Before the compass and compass were invented, and the shipbuilding technology was incomplete, people regarded the raging waves as daunting, and they were unwilling to stay away from the coast, so they chose the Mediterranean Sea. Not only is the sea smooth and the islands are dotted, but it is also very close to the coast, which is suitable for early navigation. .In ancient times, the Strait of Gibraltar was considered the end of the world, and sailing west through it has long been considered the most dangerous and terrifying journey in the history of navigation.After a long time, the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, known for their shipbuilding and navigation, dared to try.After that, it took a long time before people from other countries dared to ask for it.

Among the countries along the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt's agriculture and manufacturing industry developed the earliest and improved the most.In Upper Egypt, the area within a few miles of the banks of the Nile was relatively prosperous.In Lower Egypt, the Nile River is divided into countless large and small tributaries. These tributaries are all over the country. With a little construction, they can circulate throughout the country, whether in major cities, important villages, or in various farmhouses in the countryside. Convenient water transportation is available.The convenience provided by the Rhine and Maas rivers in the Netherlands today is roughly the same.With inland navigation in Egypt so widespread and cheap, it's no wonder it advanced so early.

Improvements in agriculture and manufactures, in the provinces of Bengal in the East Indies, and in several provinces in Eastern China, also seem to have begun at a very early age, though this antiquity has not yet been corroborated by competent European historians.Like the Nile in Egypt, the Ganges and other great rivers in India have many navigable tributaries.And in the eastern provinces of China, there are also several large rivers that are divided into many tributaries and waterways. These rivers communicate with each other, which expands the range of inland navigation. Together, it is incomparable.However, there is one thing that is very strange: the ancient Egyptians, Indians and Chinese did not encourage foreign trade.The inland voyages seem to be the source of all their wealth.

And some places seem to have been in a state of uncivilized barbarism, such as the African interior, parts of Asia far from the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea to the North Pole, ancient Sethia (present-day Tatar and Siberia), etc.The Sea of ​​Tartar is an icy ocean that is not navigable; and although there are several world-renowned rivers flowing through the territory of Tartar, they are too far apart from each other to communicate with each other. Therefore, most of the territory of Tartar has no commerce. and favorable conditions for transportation.Europe has the Baltic Sea and the Adriatic Sea, between the two continents of Europe and Asia there is the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, and Asia has the Gulfs of Arabia, Persia, India, Bengal, and Tulla.Africa does not have a large inland sea. Although there are many large rivers in its territory, the large rivers are too far apart to carry out large-scale inland navigation.

In addition, even if there is a large river flowing through a country, if the river has no tributaries and its downstream must flow through other countries to enter the sea, then it is impossible for this country to carry out large-scale commercial activities.Because the downstream countries hold the dominance over the upstream countries and ocean traffic.For example, the Danube, which flows through Bavaria, Austria, and Hungary, has extremely limited utility.However, if any one of the three countries monopolizes all its navigation rights to the Black Sea, then its utility cannot be considered equally.