What Adam Smith Left Out of the Pin Factory
Minor Issues
- Published
- May 30, 2026
- Summary source
- description
- Last updated
- Jun 24, 2026
Discusses Mark Thornton shares his recent Rothbard University lecture on the division of labor, the concept Ad…
Summary
Mark Thornton shares his recent Rothbard University lecture on the division of labor, the concept Adam Smith made famous as chapter one of The Wealth of Nations but never fully explained. Smith described workers specializing in tasks and productivity rising, then attributed the result to an invisible hand he couldn't account for. Rothbard accounted for it…
Intelligent Report
Sign in to read teasers, or upgrade to Research Pro to commission intelligent report for this episode. Learn more →
Show notes
Mark Thornton shares his recent Rothbard University lecture on the division of labor, the concept Adam Smith made famous as chapter one of The Wealth of Nations but never fully explained. Smith described workers specializing in tasks and productivity rising, then attributed the result to an invisible hand he couldn't account for. Rothbard accounted for it: the entrepreneur decides how to organize production, the capitalist funds it, and the price system guides both. Without them, the workers in