(1) All objects have positions in space (2) The desire by people to consume and use objects is not uniform over space (cars are demanded in Los Angeles more than Antarctica) (3) The productive capacity to create and improve objects is not uniform over space (it’s easier to create iron ore from an Australian mine, or a car at a Detroit factory) (4) Efficiently satisfying the distribution of desires over space by the distribution of productive capacity over space necessarily involves linking separate points in space through transportation of goods (5) Owning an object is easier when it is near you and harder when it is far from you
Summing up, satisfying preferences requires transportation, and transportation is easier if ownership is transferred along with the physical object. Therefore it is advantageous to trade.
A spatial framing:
(1) All objects have positions in space
(2) The desire by people to consume and use objects is not uniform over space (cars are demanded in Los Angeles more than Antarctica)
(3) The productive capacity to create and improve objects is not uniform over space (it’s easier to create iron ore from an Australian mine, or a car at a Detroit factory)
(4) Efficiently satisfying the distribution of desires over space by the distribution of productive capacity over space necessarily involves linking separate points in space through transportation of goods
(5) Owning an object is easier when it is near you and harder when it is far from you
Summing up, satisfying preferences requires transportation, and transportation is easier if ownership is transferred along with the physical object. Therefore it is advantageous to trade.