https://www.theepochtimes.com/american-prosperity-is-falling-apart_4635387.htmlAmerican Prosperity Is Falling Apartby Jeffrey A. Tucker
August 1, 2022
We are experiencing ever more evidence of something much more serious and less fixable:
a breakdown in the division of labor itself. Pictured: "Visiting a Nail Factory," painted
by Léonard Defrance (1735–1805)NOTE: When reading articles at The Epoch Times, DISABLE JAVASCRIPT in your browser. This can be done with the click of the mouse using free add-ons/extensions.Excerpt:Consider the motivating force for Scottish economist Adam Smith to write “The Wealth of Nations,” published in 1776. He set out to provide a rational explanation for the most unusual phenomenon of his time: the rise in the standard of living not just of the rich and powerful but of all people. The ancient world didn’t experience this. Why was it happening now and what was causing it?
His long and detailed explanation ended up being equally beautiful and boring. He explained how people have learned to cooperate together in larger and larger enterprises by focusing on specialization. They learn one skill really well and deploy it with great expertise, while depending on others to do the same. This system of dividing up the labor gives life to the old English proverb that many hands make for light work. It also makes wealth, like a miracle.
What makes possible ever more complex deployments of such a system? Trust, property rights, contract enforcement, and the freedom to try and build without invasion from private and public acts of criminality. The result is robust and wonderful, a wealth-creating machine that benefits everyone in society.
Our times have taught us just how fragile this system truly is. Invade the rights of owners, workers, and people generally and you disturb and disrupt the complex network. You harm trust relationships. You demoralize and demotivate people. You risk prosperity itself. This is a good summary of the economics of the times today.
The recession is real, but its root cause isn’t just bad policy from the Federal Reserve; it’s also in the broader problem of the inhumane way that governments have treated people for 2 1/2 years. This isn’t just about the stock market and the sagging of 401(k)s. The breakages in basic market functioning have put everything we love at grave risk. It has coarsened the world, disrupted the process of building wealth, and caused mass disorientation and confusion. The casualty is prosperity.
I’ve told only a few small stories above but the problem is pervasive today, and you see it across the board in everything and everywhere. Whether it’s the price of gas, the absence of skilled labor, the flight delays, the wait times in tech support, the long delays in getting repair parts for anything, or the mysterious disappearance of millions of workers, all point to a profound danger that the division of labor that was hundreds of years in formation now faces an existential threat.
Meanwhile, our leaders mostly act like the dog in the meme in which the house is on fire. They say, “This is fine.” There is surely not a soul alive who genuinely believes them anymore.
More at URL above...(excellent article)
