In a famous essay on the market system, the economist Leonard Read discussed how a pencil sold
Question:
In a famous essay on the market system, the economist Leonard Read discussed how a pencil sold by the U.S. firm Eberhard Faber Pencil Company (now owned by Paper Mate) was made. He noted that logging companies in California and Oregon grew the cedar wood used in the pencil. The wood was milled into pencil-width slats at a factory in San Leandro, California. The graphite for the pencil was mined in Sri Lanka and mixed with clay purchased from a firm in Mississippi and wax from a firm in Mexico. The rubber was purchased from a firm in Indonesia. Was it necessary for the managers of all these firms to know how the components they produced were assembled into a pencil? Was it necessary for the chief executive officer of the Eberhard Faber Company to know this information? Briefly explain.
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