Comparing Adam Smith, Max Weber, And Karl Marx's Division Of Labor

One of the most important concepts that defined the capitalist economy is the division of labor. Throughout the years, great philosophers such as Adam Smith, Max Weber, and Karl Marx have discussed theories that have drastically changed and molded the modern labor force. Thus, the ideal of labor division was created. Its purpose is to distribute labor skills amongst groups of people and by doing so it enabled workers to build products quickly. From this ideal, it allowed industries to expand their productivity and create trade on a global scale. The division of labor is monumental to the growth of the capitalist economy because of its profound effects on efficiency, work ethics, and worker solidarity. However, certain deficiencies such as alienation of the worker can cause challenges in the work place. Theorist Adam Smith believed that an efficiency work ethic was the key to a prosperous capitalist economy. Smith stated that his theory of labor division focuses on specialization (as cited in

When thinking of the positive effect of specialized labor, Marx suggested that it could bring solidarity to industrial workers (as citied in Sernau, 2012, p.46). Before labor division, it was probable that people worked individually with limited interactions with others in a similar trade. Now with specialized industrial work, workers have the opportunity to work in close proximity with others, thus creating bonds. Unfortunately, one of the downfalls of specialized labor is the possibility of generating deskilled workers. Marx believed that creating jobs that required little skills opened the opportunity to vulnerable and easily replaced workers (as citied in Sernau, 2012, p.46). These different ideals were profound in modern capitalist economy because it shaped the workers of the industrial