<P> After the Neolithic Revolution, pastoralism and agriculture led to more reliable and abundant food supplies, which increased the population and led to specialization of labor, including new classes of artisans, warriors, and the development of elites . This specialization was furthered by the process of industrialisation, and Industrial Revolution - era factories . Accordingly many classical economists as well as some mechanical engineers such as Charles Babbage were proponents of division of labour . Also, having workers perform single or limited tasks eliminated the long training period required to train craftsmen, who were replaced with lesser paid but more productive unskilled workers . Historically, an increasing division of labour is associated with the growth of total output and trade, the rise of capitalism, and the increasing complexity of industrialised processes . The concept and implementation of division of labour has been observed in ancient Sumerian (Mesopotamian) culture, where assignment of jobs in some cities coincided with an increase in trade and economic interdependence . Division of labour generally also increases both producer and individual worker productivity . </P> <P> In contrast to division of labour, division of work refers to the division of a large task, contract, or project into smaller tasks--each with a separate schedule within the overall project schedule . Division of labour, instead, refers to the allocation of tasks to individuals or organizations according to the skills and / or equipment those people or organizations possess . Often division of labour and division of work are both part of the economic activity within an industrial nation or organization . </P> <P> In Plato's Republic, the origin of the state lies in the natural inequality of humanity, which is embodied in the division of labour . </P> <P> Well then, how will our state supply these needs? It will need a farmer, a builder, and a weaver, and also, I think, a shoemaker and one or two others to provide for our bodily needs . So that the minimum state would consist of four or five men...(The Republic, p. 103, Penguin Classics edition .) </P>

Who propounded the theory of division of labour