Capitalism could achieve this transformation because the reorganization of production allowed for an unprecedented increase in productivity. The division of labor within and across firms, which Adam Smith had already envisioned in 1776 as the engine of growth, allowed for a division of knowhow among individuals that permitted the whole to know more than the parts and form ever-growing networks of exchange and collaboration.
资本主义之所以能够实现这一转变，是因为生产的再组织让生产率得以前所未有地提高。在1776年就被亚当·斯密预见为增长引擎的企业内部的劳动分工实现了个体之间的知识分工，使整体知识能够大于各部分之和，并形成了不断增长的交换与合作的网络。