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Why and How Do Capitalists Divide Labour? From Marglin and Back again through Babbage and Marx

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  • Bruno Tinel

Abstract

Nearly four decades ago, Stephen Marglin explored the origins of hierarchy in capitalist production with a divide and conquer hypothesis based on the idea that the monopolisation of knowledge about production technology plays a major role in explaining how workers are deprived of control over the labour process. Nevertheless, this explanation has some shortcomings that Marx and Babbage had avoided. Those two authors provided a highly accurate and convincing interpretation of the division of labour that remains relevant. The present paper proposes a general synthesis of their analysis. Two points are emphasised: (1) the division of labour plays a major role in wage determination; and (2) the division of labour largely determines the form of subjection of labour to capital.

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  • Bruno Tinel, 2013. "Why and How Do Capitalists Divide Labour? From Marglin and Back again through Babbage and Marx," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(2), pages 254-272, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:revpoe:v:25:y:2013:i:2:p:254-272
    DOI: 10.1080/09538259.2013.775825
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bruno Tinel, 2004. ""A quoi servent les patrons?" Marglin et les radicaux américains," Post-Print halshs-00266343, HAL.
    2. Carlo Vercellone, 2007. "From Formal Subsumption to General Intellect: Elements for a Marxist Reading of the Thesis of Cognitive Capitalism, in Historical Materialism," Post-Print halshs-00263661, HAL.
    3. Stephen A. Marglin, 1974. "What Do Bosses Do?," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 6(2), pages 60-112, July.
    4. Bruno Tinel, 2004. ""A quoi servent les patrons?" Marglin et les radicaux américains," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00266343, HAL.
    5. Andrea Lavezzi, 2003. "Smith, Marshall and Young on division of labour and economic growth," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 81-108.
    6. Carlo Vercellone, 2007. "From Formal Subsumption to General Intellect: Elements for a Marxist Reading of the Thesis of Cognitive Capitalism, in Historical Materialism," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00263661, HAL.
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    Cited by:

    1. Monica Hernandez, 2017. "Inequality as Lack of Co-operation in Economic Thought," Working Papers 1718, New School for Social Research, Department of Economics, revised Aug 2017.

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