ABSTRACT
The meaning of work differs significantly for major figures who analyzed the foundations of the modern social order. Although my focus in this paper is a discussion of how Durkheim analyzed work, it may be well to contrast briefly the central meaning of work for Durkheim with the positions of other classic figures, in particular Marx and weber, I will then discuss elements of the sociohistorical setting of Durkheim’s most important treatise on work and continue with major themes of his enduring classic, La Division du Travail Social (hereafter in this essay, DT).2 In a concluding section, I will briefly relate this classic to our own period, including what is the meaning of work today to ordinary people, at least as obtained in extensive survey research, something neglected by classic authors.
