For Hawtrey, the initiative of production rested on the orders of the “dealer” or trader, i.e., the intermediary between the producer and the consumer. Th e subsequent process of production gives rise to a chain of debts: “Th e manufacturer or contractor becomes indebted day by day to his employees. Th e merchant becomes indebted to the manufacturer” (Hawtrey 1919a, 376).

Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, loc. 1690