E。g。，lumber，coal，paper，woolandcotton，grain，leather，cattleforthepackinghouses。Alltheseandmanyothersaretoanincreasingextentspokenfor，delivered，anddisposedofunderwell-definedstaplegradesastoqualityanddimensions，weightandefficiency。
Wellshowninthecaseofwheatandflour；butthelikeistrueasregardsthestocksofothercommoditiescarriedbyproducers，jobbers，retailers，andconsumers。
Wellillustratedbytheinterdependenceofthevariousbranchesofironandsteelproduction。
Asseen，e。g。，inthedependenceofoilproductionoroilrefiningonthepipelinesandtheirmanagement，orinthedependenceoftheprairiefarmersontherailwaylines，etc。
tmaybenotedinthisconnection，ontheonehand，thatapopulationwhichisinnodegreehabituatedtothemodernindustrialprocessisunabletoadaptitsmodeoflifetotherequirementsofthismethodofsupplyinghumanwants，andsocanderivebutlittlebenefit，andpossiblygreatdiscomfort，fromaforcibleintrusionofthemachineindustry；as，forinstance，manyoftheoutlyingbarbarianpeopleswithwhomtheWesternindustrialcultureisnowenforcingaclosecontact。Ontheotherhand，itisalsotruethateventhemostadequatelytrainedmoderncommunity，amongwhomthemachineindustryisbestathome，doesnotrespondwithfruitlessalacritytothedemandsandopportunitieswhichthissystemholdsout。Theadaptationofhabitsoflifeandofidealsandaspirationstotheexigenciesofthemachineprocessisnotnearlycomplete，nordoestheuntrainedmaninstinctivelyfallintolinewithit。Eventhebest-trained，severelydisciplinedmanoftheindustrialtownshashisseasonsofrecalcitrancy。
10。Thedependenceofoneprocessupontheworkingoftheothersissometimesverystrict，as，forinstance，inthevariousindustriesoccupiedwithiron，includingtheextractionandhandlingoftheoreandotherrawmaterials。Inothercasesthecorrelationislessstrict，orevenveryslight，as，e。g。，thatbetweenthenewspaperindustryandlumbering，throughthewood-pulpindustry，thechiefcomponentofthemodernnewspaperbeingwood-pulp。
TheTheoryofBusinessEnterprisebyThorsteinVeblen1904
ChapterThreeBusinessEnterpriseThemotiveofbusinessispecuniarygain，themethodisessentiallypurchaseandsale。Theaimandusualoutcomeisanaccumulationofwealth。1*Menwhoseaimisnotincreaseofpossessionsdonotgointobusiness，particularlynotonanindependentfooting。
Howthesemotivesandmethodsofbusinessworkoutinthetrafficofcommercialenterpriseproper-inmercantileandbankingbusinessdoesnotconcernthepresentinquiry，exceptsofarasthesebranchesofbusinessaffectthecourseofindustrialbusinessinthestrictersenseoftheterm。Norisitnecessaryweretodescribethedetailsofbusinessroutine，whetherinthemercantilepursuitsorintheconductofanindustrialconcern。
Thepointoftheinquiryisthatcharacteristicallymodernbusinessthatiscoextensivewiththemachineprocessdescribedaboveandisoccupiedwiththelargemechanicalindustry。Theaimisatheoryofsuchbusinessenterpriseinoutlinesufficientlyfulltoshowinwhatmannerbusinessmethodsandbusinessprinciples，inconjunctionwiththemechanicalindustry，influencethemodernculturalsituation。Tosavespaceandtedium，therefore，featuresofbusinesstrafficthatarenotofabroadcharacterandnotpeculiartothismodernsituationareleftononeside，asbeingalreadysufficientlyfamiliarforthepurposeinhand。
Inearlymoderntimes，beforetheregimeofthemachineindustrysetin，businessenterpriseonanyappreciablescalecommonlytooktheformofcommercialbusiness-someformofmerchandisingorbanking。Shippingwastheonlyconsiderablelineofbusinesswhichinvolvedaninvestmentinormanagementofextensivemechanicalappliancesandprocesses，comparablewiththefactsofthemodernmechanicalindustry。2*Andshippingwascommonlycombinedwithmerchandising。Buteventheshippingtradeofearliertimeshadmuchofafortuitouscharacter，inthisrespectresemblingagricultureoranyotherindustryinwhichwindand，weathergreatlyaffecttheoutcome。Thefortunesofmeninshippingwereonamoreprecariousfootingthanto-day，andthesuccessfuloutcomeoftheirventureswaslessamatterofshrewdforesightanddailypecuniarystrategythanaretheaffairsofthemodernlargebusinessconcernsintransportationortheforeigntrade。Underthesecircumstancestheworkofthebusinessmanwasrathertotakeadvantageoftheconjuncturesofferedbythecourseoftheseasonsandthefluctuationsofdemandandsupplythantoadaptthecourseofaffairstohisownends。Thelargebusinessmanwasmoreofaspeculativebuyerandsellerandlessofafinancieringstrategistthanhehassincebecome。
Sincetheadventofthemachineagethesituationhaschanged。Themethodsofbusinesshave，ofcourse，notchangedfundamentally，whatevermaybetrueofthemethodsofindustry；
fortheyare，astheyhadbeen，conditionedbythefactsofownership。Butinsteadofinvestinginthegoodsastheypassbetweenproducerandconsumer，asthemerchantdoes，thebusinessmannowinvestsintheprocessesofindustry；andinsteadofstakinghisvaluesonthedimlyforeseenconjuncturesoftheseasonsandtheactofGod，heturnstotheconjuncturesarisingfromtheinterplayoftheindustrialprocesses，whichareingreatmeasureunderthecontrolofbusinessmen。
Solongasthemachineprocesseswerebutslightlydeveloped，scattered，relativelyisolated，andindependentofoneanotherindustrially，andsolongastheywerecarriedononasmallscaleforarelativelynarrowmarket，solongthemanagementofthemwasconditionedbycircumstancesinmanyrespectssimilartothosewhichconditionedtheEnglishdomesticindustryoftheeighteenthcentury。Itwasundertheconditionsofthisinchoatephaseofthemachineagethattheearliergenerationofeconomistsworkedouttheirtheoryofthebusinessman’spartinindustry。Itwasthenstilltrue，ingreatmeasure，thattheundertakerwastheowneroftheindustrialequipment，andthathekeptanimmediateoversightofthemechanicalprocessesaswellasofthepecuniarytransactionsinwhichhisenterprisewasengaged；anditwasalsotrue，withrelativelyinfrequentexceptions，thatanunsophisticatedproductiveefficiencywastheprimeelementofbusinesssuccess。3*Afurtherfeatureofthatprecapitalisticbusinesssituationisthatbusiness，whetherhandicraftortrade，wascustomarilymanagedwithaviewtoearningalivelihoodratherthanwithaviewtoprofitsoninvestment。4*
Inproportionasthemachineindustrygainedground，andasthemodernconcatenationofindustrialprocessesandofmarketsdeveloped，theconjuncturesofbusinessgrewmorevariedandoflargerscopeatthesametimethattheybecamemoreamenabletoshrewdmanipulation。Thepecuniarysideoftheenterprisecametorequiremoreunremittingattention，asthechancesforgainorlossthroughbusinessrelatIonssimply，asidefrommereindustrialefficiency，grewgreaterinnumberandmagnitude。Thesamecircumstancesalsoprovokedaspiritofbusinessenterprise，andbroughtonasystematicinvestmentforgain。WithafullerdevelopmentofthemoderncloseknitandcomprehensiveindustrIalsystem，thepointofchiefattentionforthebusinessmanhasshiftedfromtheold-fashionedsurveillanceandregulationofagivenindustrialprocess，withwhichhislivelihoodwasonceboundup，toanalertredistributionofinvestmentsfromlesstomoregainfulventures，5*andtoastrategiccontroloftheconjuncturesofbusinessthroughshrewdinvestmentsandcoalitionswithotherbusinessmen。
Asshownabove，themodernindustrialsystemisaconcatenationofprocesseswhichhasmuchofthecharacterofasingle，comprehensive，balancedmechanicalprocess。Adisturbanceofthebalanceatanypointmeansadifferentialadvantageordisadvantagetooneormoreoftheownersofthesub-processesbetweenwhichthedisturbancefalls；anditmayalsofrequentlymeangainorlosstomanyremotermembersintheconcatenationofprocesses，forthebalancethroughoutthesequenceisadelicateone，andthetransmissionofadisturbanceoftengoesfar。Itmayeventakeonacumulativecharacter，andmaytherebyseriouslycrippleoracceleratebranchesofindustrythatareoutofdirecttouchwiththosemembersoftheconcatenationuponwhichtheinitialdisturbancefalls。Suchisthecase，forinstance，inanindustrialcrisis，whenanapparentlyslIghtinitialdisturbancemaybecometheoccasionofawidespreadderangement。Andsuch，ontheotherhand，isalsothecasewhensomefavorableconditionabruptlysupervenesinagivenindustry，as，e。g。，whenasuddendemandforwarstoresstartsawaveofprosperitybyforceofalargeandlucrativedemandfortheproductsofcertainindustries，andtheseinturndrawontheirneighborsinthesequence，andsotransmitawaveofbusinessactivity。
Thekeepingoftheindustrialbalance，therefore，andadjustingtheseveralindustrialprocessestooneanother’sworkandneeds，isamatterofgraveandfar-reachingconsequenceinanymoderncommunity，ashasalreadybeenshown。Now，themeansbywhichthisbalanceiskeptisbusinesstransactions，andthemeninwhosekeepingitliesarethebusinessmen。Thechannelbywhichdisturbancesaretransmittedfrommembertomemberofthecomprehensiveindustrialsystemisthebusinessrelationsbetweentheseveralmembersofthesystem；and，underthemodernconditionsofownership，disturbances，favorableorunfavorable，inthefieldofindustryaretransmittedbynothingbutthesebusinessrelations。Hardtimesorprosperityspreadthroughthesystembymeansofbusinessrelations，andareintheirprimaryexpressionphenomenaofthebusinesssituationsimply。Itisonlysecondarilythatthedisturbancesinquestionshowthemselvesasalterationsinthecharacterormagnitudeofthemechanicalprocessesinvolved。Industryiscarriedonforthesakeofbusiness，andnotconversely；andtheprogressandactivityofindustryareconditionedbytheoutlookofthemarket，whichmeansthepresumptivechanceofbusinessprofits。
Allthisisamatterofcoursewhichitmayseemsimplytedioustorecite。6*Butitsconsequencesforthetheoryofbusinessmakeitnecessarytokeepthenatureofthisconnectionbetweenbusinessandindustryinmind。Theadjustmentsofindustrytakeplacethroughthemediationofpecuniarytransactions，andthesetransactionstakeplaceatthehandsofthebusinessmenandarecarriedonbythemforbusinessends，notforindustrialendsinthenarrowermeaningofthephrase。
Theeconomicwelfareofthecommunityatlargeisbestservedbyafacileanduninterruptedinterplayofthevariousprocesseswhichmakeuptheindustrialsystematlarge；butthepecuniaryinterestsofthebusinessmeninwhosehandsliesthediscretioninthematterarenotnecessarilybestservedbyanunbrokenmaintenanceoftheindustrialbalance。Especiallyisthistrueasregardsthosegreaterbusinessmenwhoseinterestsareveryextensive。Thepecuniaryoperationsoftheselatterareoflargescope，andtheirfortunescommonlyarenotpermanentlyboundupwiththesmoothworkingofagivenSub-processintheindustrialsystem。Theirfortunesareratherrelatedtothelargerconjuncturesoftheindustrialsystemasawhole，theinterstitialadjustments，Ortoconjuncturesaffectinglargeramificationsofthesystem。Norisitatalluniformlytotheirinteresttoenhancethesmoothworkingoftheindustrialsystematlargeinsofarastheyarerelatedtoit。Gainmaycometothemfromagivendisturbanceofthesystemwhetherthedisturbancemakesforheightenedfacilityorforwidespreadhardship，verymuchasaspeculatoringrainfuturesmaybeeitherabullorabear。Tothebusinessmanwhoaimsatadifferentialgainarisingoutofinterstitialadjustmentsordisturbancesoftheindustrialsystem，itisnotamaterialquestionwhetherhisoperationshaveanimmediatefurtheringorhinderingeffectuponthesystematlarge。Theendispecuniarygain，themeansisdisturbanceoftheindustrialsystem，-exceptsofarasthegainissoughtbytheold-fashionedmethodofpermanentinvestmentinsomeoneindustrialorcommercialplant，acasewhichisforthepresentleftononesideasnotbearingonthepointimmediatelyinhand。7*Thepointimmediatelyinquestionisthepartwhichthebusinessmanplaysinwhatareherecalledtheinterstitialadjustmentsoftheindustrialsystem；andsofarastoucheshistransactionsinthisfielditis，byandlarge，amatterofindifferencetohimwhetherhistrafficaffectsthesystemadvantageouslyordisastrously。Hisgainsorlossesarerelatedtothemagnitudeofthedisturbancesthattakeplace，ratherthantotheir。bearinguponthewelfareofthecommunity。