Why do the conditions have to be smaller than in linear programming?

49 Views Asked by At

The basic problem in linear programming is:

max $ c^Tx $

$ Ax \leq b $

$ x \geq 0 $

But why does the condition have to $ \leq $ instead of $ \geq $ ? In fact, when considering the dual problem, it is $ \geq $ when it is a maximizing problem. I don't get it. For me it makes sense the other way around?