What is so important about Adam Smith's pin factory example?

Smith Prefigures Marx:The Pin Factory and Alienation This question is interesting,and deeper than it looks.The hypothetical "Pin Factory" was Smith's conceptual model,or thought experiment, of a modern capitalistic enterprise. read more

Adam Smith's pin factory example is an application of his theory of division of labour. Smith argued that humans can 'specialize' their skills in order to create greater aggregate human prosperity. For example, it's more useful for society if communities have local doctors, farmers, blacksmiths, etc. read more