For as soon as the distribution of labour comes into being, each man has a particular, exclusive sphere of activity, which is forced upon him and from which he cannot escape. He is a hunter, a fisherman, a herdsman, or a critical critic, and must remain so if he does not want to lose his means of livelihood.
(from Marx’s German Ideology)
Marx goes on to say...
[I]n communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thusmakes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticise after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, herdsman or critic. This fixation of social activity, this consolidation of what we ourselves produce into an objective power above us, growing out of our control, thwarting our expectations, bringing to naught our calculations, is one of the chief factors in historical development up till now.
With this in mind, our ability to influence the outcome of any endeavor, as specilist in our narrow field, that involves spending other people's money is limited. Without understanding this basic tenet of economics, we have little to say unless we can show what something will cost in exchange for its value. Those we're asking to fund our efforts in exchange for that value will have a difficult time listening. This may be considered undesirable by some, but it is a simple fact of life in our modern world of capitalism.
