The social exceeds the sum of its individual members

Evidence

On several occasions, Marx stresses the analogy between the problems of the division of labour and those of military tactics. For example: ‘Just as the offensive power of a squadron of cavalry, or the defensive power of a regiment of infantry, is essentially different from the sum of the offensive or defensive powers of the individual cavalry or infantry soldiers taken separately, so the sum total of the mechanical forces exerted by isolated workmen differs from the social force that is developed, when many hands take part simultaneously in one and the same undivided operation’ (Marx, Capital, vol. 1, 308). — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 246 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Combined labor generates a social force exceeding the sum of individual efforts — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 246; Collective critique and division of labor raise a group’s average to its best members.; Crowds arouse sub-individual instincts while organized groups transcend individuals — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 345 (+1 more)

Related

• Collective critique and division of labor raise a group’s average to its best members. (similarity 0.96)
• Social aggregates exceed their components because division of labour creates unownable collective production (similarity 0.94)
• Society, through the division of labour, produces more than the sum of its parts. (similarity 0.93)
• Combined labor generates a social force exceeding the sum of individual efforts (similarity 0.91)
• Division of labor makes modern societies possible, not merely more productive. (similarity 0.80)
• Society exceeds its individual parts through collective labor and division of functions (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Combined labor generates a social force exceeding the sum of individual efforts #corroborates (0.95) — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 246
• Society, through the division of labour, produces more than the sum of its parts. #corroborates (0.90)
• Collective critique and division of labor raise a group’s average to its best members. #corroborates (0.80)
• Crowds arouse sub-individual instincts while organized groups transcend individuals #expands (0.75) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 345