Emile Durkheim: The Division of Labor in Society | Sociology Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Emile Durkheim

A Biographical Sketch

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  • Emile Durkheim was born on April 15, 1858, in Epinal, France.
  • He was descended from a long line of rabbis and initially studied to be one.
  • By his teens, he had largely disavowed his heritage.
  • His lifelong interest in religion became more academic than theological.
  • Durkheim was dissatisfied with his religious training and general education.
  • He longed for schooling in scientific methods and moral principles.
  • Rejecting a traditional academic career in philosophy, he sought scientific training.
  • Between 1882 and 1887, he taught philosophy in provincial schools near Paris.
  • A trip to Germany further whetted his appetite for science.
  • He was exposed to the scientific psychology of Wilhelm Wundt.
  • After his visit to Germany, Durkheim published extensively, influenced by his experiences.
  • His publications helped him gain a position at the University of Bordeaux in 1887.
  • At Bordeaux, he offered the first course in social science at a French university.
  • Durkheim's main responsibility was teaching courses in education to schoolteachers.
  • He aimed to communicate a moral system to educators for societal improvement.
  • In 1893, he published his French doctoral thesis, The Division of Labor in Society.
  • His major methodological statement, The Rules of Sociological Method, appeared in 1895.
  • In 1897, he conducted an empirical study titled Suicide.
  • By 1896, he had become a full professor at Bordeaux.
  • In 1902, he was summoned to the Sorbonne.
  • In 1906, he was named professor of the science of education.
  • This title changed in 1913 to include sociology.
  • His notable work, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, was published in 1912.
  • Durkheim is often thought of as a political conservative.
  • He had a deep interest in morality and the moral crisis of modern society.
  • His influence extended beyond sociology into fields like anthropology and psychology.
  • He founded the journal L’année sociologique in 1898.
  • An intellectual circle formed around the journal with Durkheim at its center.
  • Durkheim died in 1917 as a celebrated figure in French intellectual circles.
  • His work gained significant influence on American sociology over twenty years later.

The Division of Labor in Society

• The Division of Labor in Society by Émile Durkheim, published in 1893, is often regarded as the first classic of sociology. 
•  In this book, Durkheim explored how modern relationships between individuals and society have developed. 
•  He aimed to use his new field of sociology to investigate what many people at the time viewed as a crisis of morality. 
•  The preface of the first edition states that the book seeks to study the facts of moral life through the methods of positive sciences. 
•  During Durkheim's time in France, there was a strong sense of moral crisis. 
•  The French Revolution had shifted focus towards individual rights, often leading to challenges against traditional authority and religious beliefs. 
•  This trend persisted even after the revolutionary government fell. 
•  By the mid-19th century, many believed that social order was in danger because people were more self-centered and less concerned about society. 
•  In the less than 100 years between the French Revolution and Durkheim's adulthood, France experienced three monarchies, two empires, and three republics, resulting in fourteen constitutions. 
•  The moral crisis intensified after Prussia's defeat of France in 1870, which included the annexation of Durkheim's hometown. 
•  This defeat was followed by the violent and brief Paris Commune, with both events blamed on excessive individualism. 
•  August Comte suggested that many of these issues stemmed from the growing division of labor. 
•  In simpler societies, people performed similar tasks, like farming, which led to shared experiences and common values. 
•  In contrast, modern society involves many different jobs, making it difficult for people to share experiences. 
•  This variety weakens the shared moral beliefs necessary for a society, leading individuals to be less willing to help during social crises. 
•  Comte proposed that sociology should create a new pseudo-religion to restore social unity. 
•  However, Durkheim's work largely challenges Comte's view. 
•  Durkheim argued that the division of labor does not eliminate social morality but rather creates a new form of it. 
•  The main idea of The Division of Labor in Society is that modern society is not held together by people doing similar things. 
•  Instead, it is the division of labor that connects people, making them rely on one another. 
•  Although the division of labor might seem like an economic necessity that weakens social bonds, Durkheim believed that its moral effect is much more significant. 
•  He stated that the true role of the division of labor is to create a sense of solidarity among individuals. 

Mechanical and Organic Solidarity

• The change in the division of labor has had enormous implications for the structure of society. Durkheim was most interested in the changed way in which social solidarity is produced, in other words, the changed way in which society is held together and how its members see themselves as part of a whole. To capture this difference, Durkheim referred to two types of solidarity—mechanical and organic. A society characterized by mechanical solidarity is unified because all people are generalists. The bond among people is that they are all engaged in similar activities and have similar responsibilities. In contrast, a society characterized by organic solidarity is held together by the differences among people, by the fact that all have different tasks and responsibilities.
• Because people in modern society perform a relatively narrow range of tasks, they need many other people in order to survive. The primitive family headed by father-hunter and mother–food gatherer is practically self-sufficient, but the modern family needs the grocer, baker, butcher, auto mechanic, teacher, police officer, and so forth. These people, in turn, need the kinds of services that others provide in order to live in the modern world. Modern society, in Durkheim’s view, is thus held together by the specialization of people and their need for the services of many others. This specialization includes not only that of individuals but also of groups, structures, and institutions.
• Durkheim argued that primitive societies have a stronger collective conscience, that is, more shared understandings, norms, and beliefs. The increasing division of labor has caused a diminution of the collective conscience. The collective conscience is of much less significance in a society with organic solidarity than it is in a society with mechanical solidarity. People in modern society are more likely to be held together by the division of labor and the resulting need for the functions performed by others than they are by a shared and powerful collective conscience. Nevertheless, even organic societies have a collective consciousness, albeit in a weaker form that allows for more individual differences.
• Anthony Giddens (1972) points out that the collective conscience in the two types of society can be differentiated on four dimensions—volume, intensity, rigidity, and content. Volume refers to the number of people enveloped by the collective conscience; intensity, to how deeply the individuals feel about it; rigidity, to how clearly it is defined; and content, to the form that the collective conscience takes in the two types of society. In a society characterized by mechanical solidarity, the collective conscience covers virtually the entire society and all its members; it is believed in with great intensity; it is extremely rigid; and its content is highly religious in character. In  a society with  organic solidarity, the collective conscience is limited to particular groups; it is adhered to with much less intensity; it is not very rigid; and its content is the elevation of the importance of the individual to a moral precept.

Dynamic Density

• The division of labor was a material social fact to Durkheim because it is a pattern of interactions in the social world. As indicated above, social facts must be explained by other social facts. Durkheim believed that the cause of the transition from mechanical to organic solidarity was dynamic density. This concept refers to the number of people in a society and the amount of interaction that occurs among them. More people means an increase in the competition for scarce resources, and more interaction means a more intense struggle for survival among the basically similar components of society.
• The problems associated with dynamic density usually are resolved through differentiation and, ultimately, the emergence of new forms of social organization. The rise of the division of labor allows people to complement, rather than conflict with, one another. Furthermore, the increased division of labor makes for greater efficiency, with the result that resources increase, making the competition over them more peaceful.
• In societies with organic  solidarity, less competition and more differentiation allow  people  to cooperate more and to all be supported by the same resource base. Therefore, difference allows for even closer bonds between people than does similarity. Thus, in a society characterized by organic solidarity, there are both more solidarity and more individuality than there are in a society characterized by mechanical solidarity. Individuality, then, is not the opposite of close social bonds but a requirement for them.

Understanding Durkheim's Concepts of Solidarity and Law

Mechanical Solidarity and Repressive Law

• Definition: Mechanical solidarity occurs in societies where people are very similar and share strong common beliefs and values. This similarity creates a strong collective conscience.
• Characteristics: In such societies, the law is repressive, meaning that it punishes offenders harshly to uphold the collective moral system. Since everyone shares the same values, any violation is seen as a threat to the entire community.
• Examples of Punishments: Durkheim gave extreme examples to illustrate this point. For instance, in cases of theft, punishments could be as severe as cutting off the thief's hands. Similarly, blasphemy could lead to severe punishments like the removal of a tongue. Even minor offenses could result in harsh penalties because they threaten the shared moral fabric of the society.

Organic Solidarity and Restitutive Law

• Definition: Organic solidarity, on the other hand, is found in more complex and diverse societies where individuals are interdependent but different. Here, the law is restitutive, focusing on restoring balance rather than punishing offenders severely.
• Characteristics: In societies with organic solidarity, crimes are often seen as offenses against individuals or specific groups rather than against the entire moral system. Because of the diversity and weaker common morality, reactions to law violations are less emotional and severe.
• Focus on Restitution: Restitutive law emphasizes making amends to those harmed by the offender's actions. While some repressive laws still exist, such as the death penalty, most legal responses, especially for minor offenses, focus on restitution and rehabilitation.

Durkheim's View on Modern Solidarity

• Durkheim believed that modern society has developed a new form of solidarity that, while different from mechanical solidarity, is still vital for social cohesion. This new solidarity allows for greater interdependence and closer relationships among individuals.
• However, he also warned that this modern form of solidarity is vulnerable to social pathologies, suggesting that while it is more flexible and adaptive, it can also lead to new kinds of social problems.

Normal and Pathological

• One of Durkheim’s most debated claims was his belief that sociologists could differentiate between healthy and unhealthy societies. In his earlier work, The Division of Labor, he applied this concept, and later in The Rules of Sociological Method, he sought to clarify and defend it. Durkheim argued that a healthy society could be identified by its similarities to other societies at similar developmental stages. Conversely, a society that deviates from these norms might be considered pathological.
• This notion faced significant criticism during Durkheim’s time, and it is not widely accepted among sociologists today. Even Durkheim, in the "Preface to the Second Edition" of The Rules, moved away from defending this idea, stating that the method's general orientation did not rely on how social types were classified or how normal and pathological were distinguished.
• However, from this discussion, Durkheim presented the intriguing concept that crime is a normal aspect of society rather than a pathological one. He observed that since crime exists in all societies, it must serve a useful purpose. According to Durkheim, crime plays a crucial role in helping societies define and clarify their collective conscience. He illustrated this with the example of a hypothetical community of saints, where, although traditional crime might be absent, minor faults would be treated with the same severity as major crimes in ordinary societies.

In The Division of Labor, Durkheim employed the concept of pathology to critique certain "abnormal" forms of labor division present in modern society. He identified three such abnormal forms:

1. Anomic division of labor
2. Forced division of labor
3. Poorly coordinated division of labor

Durkheim argued that the moral crises associated with the division of labor, as noted by Comte and others, were actually rooted in these abnormal forms.

Anomic Division of Labor

• The anomic division of labor, as described by Durkheim, signifies a condition where societal regulation is absent, leading to a celebration of individualism without clear guidance on individual roles and responsibilities. This concept of anomie is further explored by Durkheim in his studies on suicide. In both contexts, anomie refers to a lack of sufficient moral restraint on individuals (Bar Haim, 1997; Hilbert, 1986). Durkheim believed that modern society is inherently vulnerable to anomie, particularly during periods of social and economic upheaval.
• In the absence of the strong, shared morality characteristic of mechanical solidarity, individuals may struggle to understand what behaviors are deemed appropriate or acceptable. While the division of labor fosters cohesion in modern society, it cannot entirely compensate for the decline in a common moral framework. As a result, individuals may become isolated, feeling disconnected from others engaged in different specialized tasks. This disconnection is a key contributor to the emergence of anomie. Although organic solidarity is susceptible to this particular pathology, the division of labor has the potential to enhance moral interactions instead of reducing individuals to isolated, meaningless roles.

Forced Division of Labor

• In Durkheim’s view, individuals require guidelines to navigate their roles in society. However, his second abnormal form, the forced division of labor, highlights a type of regulation that can exacerbate conflicts and isolation, thereby increasing anomie. This pathology arises when outdated norms and expectations compel individuals, groups, and classes into roles that do not suit them. Factors such as tradition, economic power, or social status can dictate who performs certain jobs, irrespective of their skills or qualifications.
• In this context, Durkheim’s perspective aligns closely with Marxist ideas. He argues that when one class is forced to accept any terms for its services to survive, while another class can afford to be selective about its engagements due to pre-existing resources—resources that are not necessarily a result of social superiority—the latter class gains an unjust advantage over the former in the eyes of the law.

Poorly Coordinated Division of Labor

• The third abnormal form of division of labor, as identified by Durkheim, occurs when the specialized tasks performed by different individuals are poorly coordinated. 
• He reiterates that organic solidarity arises from the interdependence of individuals. If these specializations do not foster greater interdependence but instead lead to isolation, the division of labor will fail to promote social solidarity. 
• Effective coordination is crucial to ensure that the division of labor contributes to social cohesion rather than fragmentation.

Justice

Addressing Anomie and Division of Labor

• For the division of labor to be a moral and socially cohesive force in modern society, issues like anomie(disconnection), forced division of labor, and improper specialization coordination need to be tackled.
• Modern societies are united not by shared experiences but by their differences, as long as these differences promote interdependence.

Role of Social Justice

• For Durkheim, social justice is crucial. Advanced societies should focus on making social relations more equitable to ensure the free development of all socially useful forces.

Durkheim's Early Themes

• In his first book, Durkheim explored morality,social solidarity, and justice.
• He believed that sociology would eventually break into specialties due to the division of labor, a prediction he made in his second book,The Rules of Sociological Method.

Impact on Sociology

• It remains uncertain whether this division has led to greater interdependence and organic solidarity within sociology itself.