No individual alone is capable of producing cardboard boxes. This may seem like an outlandish claim, but it is not. As simple as a cardboard box may seem, there is still not one person capable of producing then by themselves. You’re probably thinking this can’t be true, so just bear with me for a moment. Let’s examine the production process for cardboard boxes to grasp the complexity that is inherent in producing something.
How are Cardboard Boxes Made in the Modern Economy
To create a cardboard box we must start with trees. The trees must be cut down, which will require a lumberjack. The lumberjack requires a saw to cut down the tree. To create the saw metals, wood, and other materials must be gathered and processed, which is another giant process in and of itself. The lumberjack also requires food to fuel himself, which requires another complicated production process.
After the tree has been cut down, it must be taken to the mill. This requires a crane to lift the fallen tree onto a truck, which can then drive the tree to where it needs to go. Think of all the materials that must be gathered and processed to create a truck or crane and everything that goes into obtaining the gas for it to run. This adds another monumental list of antecedents to the cardboard box.
After the tree has reached the mill, it must be stripped of its bark, grinded up, and combined with water to form a pulp. This pulp is then pressed into sheets and dried. Think of all the machines that are required to accomplish these tasks and the materials required to make them. The list gets very long very fast. Now we are starting to see the cardboard take shape, but it is far from over.
These large cardboard sheets are then put through a corrugating machine to create the inner wavy layer of the cardboard. Therefore, we can add another long list of things needed for this machine. Then the corrugated layer is sandwiched between to more layers of cardboard and glued together. These cardboard sheets are then cut, folded, and glued to create cardboard boxes. Therefore, we can again add another lengthy list of antecedents to make the glue and the machines required.
These finished boxes might now be painted or stamped with markings of some kind, which require many more resources and machines. Then they must be put back on a truck and taken to their destination to finally be received by the average consumer. As you can see, there is a lot that goes into creating something so simple as a cardboard box. I even had to leave out most of the details to prevent this short article from becoming a book.
The Implications of This
Now, do you think it is possible for one person to accomplish all of these things? How would anyone acquire the knowledge and skills to collect and process all of these materials? How could one person create all those machines, and coordinate that entire process? It is safe to say that one person could not do it alone; it requires the division of labor under a free-market system. It requires millions of people working together and contributing their tiny pieces of know-how to the production process. The free-market coordinates this entire process through prices and profit and loss.
If one person is incapable of creating something so simple as a cardboard box, then how can we expect one person or one tiny committee to plan the entire economy? This is what socialists and every other proponent of government planning want. They want the government to direct the economy. But, how can the government obtain the knowledge necessary to coordinate production? They are not omniscient, so it is impossible. Modern production is far too complex for any government agency to know how to run it. Therefore, the government will always fail to organize things efficiently, if they can even do it at all. The free-market is the only thing capable of organizing our modern economy.
(This article was inspired by Leonard E. Read’s classic essay: “I Pencil.” It is an excellent read and I encourage everyone to give it a look. Click here to see it for yourself.)
Great article and a nice way to prove how important the free market is.
There is a lot that goes into that box.