ABSTRACT
In this chapter the author have stressed the central role of Durkheim's political thought in his sociology as a whole. Durkheim attempted to escape from this difficulty by placing stress upon the 'partial' character of sociological knowledge: the emphasis that the advance of sociology is slow and painstaking, because it must conform to the rigorous criteria of scientific validation. In assessing Durkheim's theory of the division of labour in relation to his political sociology, it is important to evaluate what he shared in common with socialism. Later accounts, such as those by Parsons and Alpert, provided much more sophisticated, and accurate, evaluations of Durkheim's general sociology, but these tended to direct attention away from the political content of Durkheim's writings, emphasizing other aspects of his works. Since any examination of Durkheim's political ideas tends to obscure the degree to which Durkheim's general sociology is concerned with political problems and with the nature of the modern state.
