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#Economics_in_simple_language Specialized division of labor increases everyone’s dependence on the complementary activities of others. --- When I was a child, I lived on a farm where my parents raised herds of dairy and beef cattle. I clearly remember how we milked the cows and buffaloes and produced milk, cream, butter, yogurt, and cheese. We consumed part of it ourselves and sold the rest. I also recall how my father would pull the buffaloes out of the river and help them give birth to their calves. He even treated sick animals with aspirin — using homemade paper tubes rolled from old newspapers. He’d put one end into the animal’s mouth and blow the aspirin powder through the other end. He used to joke that it’s very important we blow first when giving medicine — if the cow blows first, I end up swallowing all that aspirin myself! We also grew vegetables and fruits, raised poultry and turkeys, and made our own jam and dried fruits for winter. We spread cloths on the rooftop to dry the produce in the sun and covered them with fabric to protect them from birds. We chopped our own firewood and pumped water from a well. In short, we produced almost everything we needed ourselves. My parents worked from dawn till night, sometimes even late into the evening. There was no weekend rest — the cows and buffaloes didn’t know what “weekend” meant. They’d give birth, go into the river, or need feeding and milking every single day. Yet despite all this self-sufficiency, we still had to buy many goods we couldn’t produce — pots, pans, shoes, clothes, machinery, vehicles, and tools. My parents worked extremely hard but still didn’t have everything. Being self-sufficient felt good, but it didn’t make us wealthy, because self-sufficiency doesn’t equal efficiency. Doing everything yourself means mastering nothing. And being a “jack of all trades” can’t lead to productivity. The end of self-sufficiency is poverty. --- The economic principle “Division of labor” means that instead of doing everything alone, each person or group focuses on one specialized task and exchanges with others to meet the rest of their needs. This raises the overall efficiency and productivity of society, because everyone works in the field where they are most capable. In the story, the family produced almost everything themselves: milk, butter, meat, vegetables, fruit — even gave medicine to their animals! They were self-reliant, but: spent too much time working, had no rest, and despite all the effort, weren’t rich. Why? Because their work wasn’t specialized. --- Economic takeaway: 1. Self-sufficiency = Satisfaction from independence, but not wealth. They felt proud of being independent, but because they did everything themselves, they couldn’t do any single thing efficiently. 2. Specialization = Creation of wealth. When each person focuses on one skill (one produces milk, another makes clothes, another builds machines), the final output is both better and larger — and through trade, everyone benefits. 3. Mutual dependence is positive. At first glance, dependence may seem like a weakness, but in reality, it fosters cooperation, progress, and collective prosperity. --- “Self-sufficiency shows independence; specialization shows growth.” In today’s world, no country, no company, and no individual can do everything alone. True power lies in understanding your role in the larger system and exchanging intelligently with others.