Adam Smith made the productive–unproductive labour distinction central to economic theory and defined manufacturing and agriculture as productive because they create material objects, or “vendible commodities,” that are the source of national wealth.

Evidence (1)

What counts as productive? Redefining ‘producers’ in economic discourse, 1890–1960 — Classical political economy: producers as creators of material wealth

manufacturing is productive, alongside agri - culture, because it creates material objects, which he referred to as ‘vendible commodities’, that were the source of national wealth.

https://doi.org/10.1080/03085147.2024.2404355#unit-4-p1

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