OF UNIT IDEAS IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF LEISURE

It has been said that the concepts of leisure and labor have sociological meaning only vis-a-vis each other. Robert Nisbet's notion of "unit ideas," referring to common historical concerns, is used in this article to examine changing assessments of the role assigned to leisure and labor throughout history. What role has been attributed to leisure and labor in the past and is attributed to them today in forming human identity, stimulating social change, enforcing social integration, raising social equality, and contributing to well-being? Two other controversial issues examined in the article are associated with the alienating effects of the division of labor on leisure and the conflicting views with regard to the coming of the "society of leisure." The article attempts to demonstrate that the relationships between labor and leisure are not "uni-lineal" and the well-being borderline runs not between labor and leisure, but within them.