Iōannidou, Anastasia (1995) The concept of the division of labour as the link between A. Smith's and G. F. W. Hegel's social theory. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

Preview

PDF WRAP_Theses_Ioannidou_1995.pdf - Unspecified Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (8Mb) | Preview

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

This thesis compares Smith's and Hegel's social theory and in particular focuses on the concept of labour and division of labour in conceptualising the positive aspects of modem society. I examine the shift made from the natural law and social contract theories of society as a form of justification of rights and power towards theories that argued for social reproduction and cohesion on the basis of the rule of law and the rationality that arises from the politico-economic role of the division of labour in society.

Smith set the question of the division of labour in modem society as a politico- economic question with socio-theoretical implications for the modem theory of industrial society. In other words, the division of labour for Smith is both the source of wealth for the modem nation and a principle for the organisation of production. Modem commercial society is characterised by an extensive division of labour which in so far as it highlights individual self-interest, serves to challenge traditional ideas of morality and civic morals as forms of social cohesion. Political economy as the modem science of society reconstructed critically, on the one hand, the political economy of modem institutions, and on the other hand, offered a moral argument that articulates a moral critique of the conflicts of modem society which are extended in all forms of social life.

This socio-theoretical endeavour had great impact on the theories critical of enlightenment such as Hegel’s. Hegel, influenced by the developments in the French and Scottish enlightenment, made a shift from his early theological interest towards the socio-political conceptualisation of social developments as part of the conceptualisation of “objective spirit”. His early account is negative and exposed both the negativity of the immediate/empiricist and universal/formalist approach to the political science of right and modem ethical life. Labour and division of labour played a crucial role in illustrating the mediating social and ethical elements involved. Hegel was led to a phenomenological and political view of right/law labour/division of labour and exposed the internal logic of the dialectics of civil society and of the division of labour on the institutional level.

Both social theories are dealt with as a conceptualisation of the crisis and the reconstruction of enlightenment thought. In that respect Smith’s and Hegel’s arguments were complementary although they offer different formulations and answers on the particular question of the division of labour. The first, places emphasis on the political economy of modern liberty and morality in modem commercial society, and the second offers a historical and conceptual reconstruction of right and of political constitution where division of labour is the mediating moment.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, 1770-1831, Division of labor, Smith, Adam, 1723-1790
Official Date:	December 1995
Dates:	Date Event December 1995 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Sociology
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Clarke, Simon
Sponsors:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) ; European University Institute ; Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
Extent:	325 leaves
Language:	eng

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads