The Division of Labor in Society

The Division of Labor in Society by Émile Durkheim is a doctoral dissertation first published in 1893. It is most notable for using the scientific method to explain social phenomena, and it is widely considered one of the foundational works in modern sociology. Durkheim, along with other theorists such as Max Weber and Karl Marx, is considered a founder of the field. In The Division of Labor in Society, Durkheim explores how modern societies remain cohesive and harmonious despite the gradual decay of traditional and religious institutions, which previously bound individuals to the collective. He concludes that the division of labor gives rise to an organic type of solidarity that finds strength in diversity and codependence rather than uniformity.

This guide refers to the New York Free Press edition published in 1997.

Content Warning: The Division of Labor in Society reprises common racist beliefs based on social Darwinism, which applies the laws of natural selection to people and has since been discredited. Durkheim’s work employs offensive slurs such as “savage” and “primitive” to refer to certain communities. This type of language is now widely considered inappropriate and offensive in serious academic work. Although this guide does not avoid the use of these terms in order to remain functionally consistent with the original, it will always refer to them in quotation marks to emphasize their purpose as paraphrasing Durkheim’s vocabulary.