Division of Labor
Where would todays world be without the division of labor? That is a good question because it really gets to the heart of the way our global economy exists. In todays world, every worker has a small part to play. This paper discusses the importance of the division of labor in a capitalist economy, why it allows for more efficiency, and what some examples in my own life are.
The Importance of the Division of Labor in a Capitalist Economy
The concept of the division of labor is central to the idea of capitalism. The reason for this is that capitalism is about maximizing labor and minimizing cost to yield maximal income. Thus, the division of labor idea comes into play thanks to Adam Smiths example of the pin factory from his Wealth of Nations (Miller, 2023). The idea essentially introduced the factory model and reduced laborers to mere cogs in a machine: in the pin factory model, every laborer performs a simple, repetitive role. One worker sorts the pins, one worker puts them in boxes, one worker seals the boxes, and so on. The assembly line is as efficient as possible since each worker only has to focus on one simple stepthe benefit being that it reduces the likelihood of errors and inconsistencies in the assembly process. The problem, of course, is that it dehumanizes the laborer. It should be no surprise, therefore, to see the rise of Marist Communism, which attacks the dehumanization of labor and capitalism directly (Ayres, 2023). At any rate, the division of labor is important...
Capitalist economies cannot be profitable without efficient production forces. It is why they seek out the cheapest, most productive labor (offshoring if necessary). Capitalist economies put profits before all else. Adam Smiths pin factory example ushered in the era of dehumanization in labor, upon which the capitalist model depends (Ayres, 2023).
More Efficiency
The division of labor is efficient for four important reasons. First, it makes specialization possible. Workers get to specialize...
…which is where I work. There is one person to cook, one person to clean, one person to wait on tables, one person to greet guests when they arrive, one person to manage, one person to take payments, one person to pack to-go orders, and one person to pour drinks at the bar. If there were just one or two people doing all these jobs, the restaurant would probably be less efficientat least in
theory.
In my experience, however, the more people there are for a job the more they tend to slack. There is usually just one or two people who do all or most of the work anyway while others drag their feet and do as little as they can get away with. I do not really see the division of labor in restaurant work as being all that efficient at all. It makes more sense to me that it would be most efficient in something like an assembly line, which is what Smith was referring to in his Wealth of…
