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The Role of Efficiency and Power in Explanations of Division of Labour.

Authors :
Rueschemeyer, Dietrich
Source :
Classical Tradition in Sociology: The American Tradition; 1997, Vol. 3, p345-362, 18p
Publication Year :
1997

Abstract

This article focuses on efficiency and power as the basic factors promoting division of labor. Any judgment about efficiency which is the economical use of means in the pursuit of specific goals, hinges on a ranking of goals and on an evaluation of the cost of alternative means to reach these goals, cost being equal. Focusing on phenomena of power in the study of division of labor and social differentiation leads out of the impasse that results for the prevailing functionalist efficiency explanations from the formal character of the concept. Disproportionate power, power concentrated in the hands of individuals and groups with similar interests and preferences, means that a certain type of cost-benefit calculus gains a disproportionate influence or adaptive capacity. The exercise of power is one of the most important ways through which the inclination of rational members of large groups to opt for a free ride may be counteracted and through which people can be made to support the common good of a collectivity coercive taxation in support of action. Efficiency, productivity, individual and social welfare may be considered essentially contested concepts. The powerful interests which steer and promote division of labor need not be good or just, nor should they be thought of as unjust and evil merely because they are powerful.

Details

Language :
English
ISBNs :
9780761953241
Volume :
3
Database :
Supplemental Index
Journal :
Classical Tradition in Sociology: The American Tradition
Publication Type :
Book
Accession number :
15356856