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Émile Durkheim

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Émile Durkheim

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Bert Posted: Fri, Aug 3 2012 6:26 PM

Worth the read?  Came across his The Division of Labor in Society while looking at The Elementary Forms of Religious Life.  I guess I could throw Weber in this as I haven't read anything from him either, and I suppose that maybe I should read their works.  Been a while since I've read any political or econ book, and to be honest I don't want to jump into something overly boring that's along those lines (I assume it's not).

I had always been impressed by the fact that there are a surprising number of individuals who never use their minds if they can avoid it, and an equal number who do use their minds, but in an amazingly stupid way. - Carl Jung, Man and His Symbols
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Wheylous replied on Fri, Aug 3 2012 7:45 PM

One reviewer out of 8 on amazon said it's a tough read, another said that the Halls translation is poor:

http://www.amazon.com/Division-Labor-Society-Emile-Durkheim/product-reviews/0684836386/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Most seem to like it.

Another reviewer says "A unique thesis: the division of labor is morally cohesive, and inheritance of capital is the flaw of capitalism."

Supposedly, "It is a great counter-argument to Marx and communism. I read this book at the University of Chicago, and I can only hope other institutions also assign it; it is a must read for anybody interested in human interaction."

Has about 340 pages. I scanned a bit of it. It doesn't look overly exciting, I must say, but then again I 1) did not read it 2) am not you.

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Bert replied on Fri, Aug 3 2012 8:08 PM

Seems like it would be an interesting read, but I cannot tell if his views would be pro-capitalist or more along the lines of "this is just the way it is" which I suppose you'd probably end up defaulting to a pro-capitalist position anyway.

I had always been impressed by the fact that there are a surprising number of individuals who never use their minds if they can avoid it, and an equal number who do use their minds, but in an amazingly stupid way. - Carl Jung, Man and His Symbols
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Wheylous replied on Fri, Aug 3 2012 9:30 PM

Being against capital inheritance is pro-capitalist?

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Bert replied on Fri, Aug 3 2012 10:03 PM

I've come across weirder.

I had always been impressed by the fact that there are a surprising number of individuals who never use their minds if they can avoid it, and an equal number who do use their minds, but in an amazingly stupid way. - Carl Jung, Man and His Symbols
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