The Wealth of Nations is a book on economic growth. Smith’s ideas of economic growth relied heavily on the division of labor. He believed that production should be broken down task by task. This would help each worker become an expert at his or her particular function. Smith believed that if you became an expert at a job, you would naturally become efficient, as well. Another benefit would be keeping workers from having to switch tasks, which would save even more time and money.

This concept allowed Victorian factories to grow by using assembly line technology so that each worker would only be responsible for his part on the line. Smith realized that this would create boredom, and believed governments should pay for workers’ education to keep them stimulated and to improve the assembly line blues.

Adam Smith also believed that dividing labor would put each person in the job that he or she was best at. His belief was that labor should produce two key elements, the production of actual products, and a surplus that can be reinvested back into making more products. With this in mind, Smith tried to figure out the true value or natural value of a product. His conclusion was that the value of a product is based on the number of hours it took to make it. (JIzak)