Durkheim: The Division of Labour in Society

Steven Lukes is Professor of Sociology at New York University, USA. He studied at Oxford and has previously held posts at Oxford, Florence, Siena and London. He is an emeritus Fellow of the British Academy and an editor of the European Journal Of Sociology. His writing and teaching have ranged over political science, political and moral philosophy, sociology, anthropology and the philosophy of the social sciences. He is the author of Emile Durkheim: His Life and Work (1972) and, most recently, Moral Relativism (2005).

'If one had to choose one foundational text in sociology - this has to be it. Its critique of market society as well as its radical treatment of capitalism's diseases are even more pertinent today than they were a century ago.' Michael Burawoy, Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, USA 'The Division of Labour in Society is Durkheim's foundational work and Steven Lukes' new, expanded edition - with an improved translation and a lucid, up-to-date introduction - has made it more accessible and more relevant than ever. ' David Garland, New York University, USA 'Durkheim's highly original treatment of an already classical subject made the division of labour as basic a question for sociology as for economics. It took over and transformed the great modern issues of social change and order, individualism and solidarity. The issues remain both contentious and deeply significant, and Durkheim's first major book continues to inform the best debates. Steven Lukes situates Durkheim well in both his historical and his theoretical context, and clarifies the enduring contributions of this book, as well as the places where it contrasts with current thought.' Craig Calhoun, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK 'How can society cohere in the face of escalating economic disparities, the proliferation of conflicting cultural standards, and runaway individualism? How can persons carve an institutional trajectory and find existential fullfilment when the frameworks of collective life seem to come continually unglued? What are the determinants and viable forms of social solidarity? There are no more urgent sociopolitical questions today around the globe. And no book offers more tools and insights to articulate, and perhaps resolve, them than Durkheim's foundational treatment of The Division of Labour in Society. Some 120 years after its writing, it is not only a text for the ages: it is a text for our age.' Loic Wacquant, University of California, Berkeley, USA, and Centre de sociologie europeenne, Paris, France

• Preface to this edition, by Steven LukesIntroduction to the 1984 edition, by Lewis CoserIntroduction to this edition, by Steven LukesDurkheim's Life and Work: Timeline 1858-1917Suggestions for Further ReadingOriginal Translator's NoteThe Division of Labour in Society by Emile DurkheimPreface to the First Edition (1893)Preface to the Second Edition (1902)IntroductionPART I: THE FUNCTION OF THE DIVISION OF LABOUR1. The Method of Determining This Function2. Mechanical Solidarity, or Solidarity by Similarities3. Solidarity Arising from the Division of Labour, or Organic Solidarity4. Another Proof of the Preceding Theory5. The Increasing Preponderance of Organic: Solidarity and its Consequences6. The Increasing Preponderance of Organic: Solidarity and its Consequences (cont.)7. Organic Solidarity and Contractual SolidarityPART II: THE CAUSES AND CONDITIONS8. The Progress of the Division of Labour and of Happiness9. The Causes10. Secondary Factors11. Secondary Factors (cont.)12. Consequences of the ForegoingPART III: THE ABNORMAL FORMS13. The Anomic Division of Labour14. The Forced Division of Labour15. Another Abnormal FormConclusionOriginal Annotated Table of Contents.