Division of labour

Division of labour is generally speaking the specialisation of co-operative labour in specific, circumscribed tasks and roles, intended to increase efficiency of output. It reaches the level of a scientifically based practice with time and motion studies associated with Taylorism.

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In the history of the human species, the first division of labour was between men and women, but it became ever more sophisticated since the invention of agriculture and the dawn of civilization. Some other social animals also exhibit a division of labour.

Related Topics:
Agriculture - Civilization - Social animal

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What appeared to some as the idyllic "wholeness" of pre-civilized life in humans was thought to be due first and foremost to people not being differentiated into specialized roles and functions. That interpretation is countered by the primitive, survivalist habitus of prehistoric man who spent much of his time foraging. Anarcho-primitivism and Primitive Communism are two controversial theories which explore the politics of these primitivist economic states.

Related Topics:
Primitive - Survivalist - Habitus - Anarcho-primitivism - Primitive Communism - Primitivist

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