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Division of Labor

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Division of Labor Introduction: The phrase “division of labor” has many different definitions that can be used in different contexts. The Encyclopedia of Sociology helps explore the many different ways division of labor can be defined, and recognizes that all major sociologists considered this topic to be fundamental in understanding modern society, and how it has came to be. (Borgatta Montgomery and Rhonda 2000). Some of these classical sociological thinkers expressed their own ideas of division of labor, such as Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and Emile Durkheim. The ideas of these three great thinkers had some similarities, but also differed in many ways. Adam Smith felt division of labor was necessary and vital for economic prosperity, while …show more content…

Marx believed it was something very horrible, and eventually all the workers would revolt and ultimately over throw and get rid of capitalism. He had a utopian view of what he wanted the world to be but unfortunately his view was unrealistic. Marx’s idea of division of labor was pessimistic on an extreme level. He was right about the worker’s condition and the drive for money on the capitalist’s end, but the way he wanted the world to be would limit social mobility. Not only were his aspirations for the world a bit unrealistic, but he also advocated for the public to not only write about what was going on, he wanted them to do something about it; even though he, himself, never actually did. Emile Durkheim’s Perspective: While Adam Smith and Karl Marx took on the definition of division of labor in terms of a more economical perspective, Emile Durkheim expresses his ideas of division of labor in terms of it on a more societal level. Similar to Smith’s perspective, Durkheim saw division of labor as being an evolution. He believed division of labor led to solidarity. He described there being two different types of solidarity, mechanical and organic solidarity. Mechanical solidarity, or solidarity by similarities, was the traditional model of societies that had a “collective (or common) consciousness” (Durkheim 1893). This meant the societies that shared the same

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