Adam Smith Division Of Labor Analysis

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The division of labor is a process in which individuals take on specialized tasks. Over time, philosophers and economists have developed multiple views on this concept and its resulting consequences. Adam Smith claims that the division of labor leads to greater productivity due to an increase in skill and a decrease in required time. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels argue that it destroys the individual, as well as their power and creativity. Émile Durkheim agrees with Smith while addressing the negatives of specialization. Durkheim also explores organic solidarity, which he says creates social unity. One may argue that the division of labor is detrimental to an individual’s personality, but it can be beneficial. One might say that the division …show more content…

Adam states that, “the greatest improvements in the productive powers of labour seem to have been the effects of the division of labor” (Ch. 1). He exemplifies this claim by describing the trade of pin-making, and how, by splitting up the process into specialized jobs, people can make more pins in less time. Smith argues that this increase due to specialization “is owing to three different circumstances; first, to the increase in dexterity…secondly, to the saving of time…and, lastly, to the invention of machines” (Ch.1). By repeating the same task over and over, workers gain skill and speed in their specific trade, allowing them to become experts in their labor. Time is lost when workers switch from one task to another, but with division of labor there is no switching and, therefore, more available work time. After a while, workers look to save effort, which results in the invention of machines that can do the work for them. Smith recognizes these three elements as the effects of specialization, ultimately claiming that the division of labor is a positive and productive …show more content…

For example, Marx and Engels expressed that specialization would turn workers into expressionless machines, since they would only know one task. According to Durkheim, man “is endowed with free will and that is enough to establish his personality” (105). He explains that as the division of labor progresses in a society, this free will allows an individual to break free from the collective nature and become more independent. Therefore, the division of labor actually perpetuates individual

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