SOCIAL DIFFERENTIATION AND ORGANIC SOLIDARITY - THE DIVISION-OF-LABOR REVISITED

This paper argues for the ''classicity'' of Durkheim's first book: the innovative way viewing the compatibility of social order and individual autonomy; his sensitive perception of uneasiness with regards to the crisis of anomie; the lucid sociological account, especially the tripartite explanation of the division of labor in terms of its functioning, emergence, and consequences; and the conceptualization of the problem of order-i.e., the relationship of differentiation and integration. In all of these respects, Durkheim's book is a classic. Yet ''classical'' neither means original nor flawless. This is shown with respect to the relationship of division of labor and organic solidarity by looking at the historical debate on the division of labor, by elucidating mechanical and organic solidarity, and by carving out some of the problems ''inside organic solidarity.''