In 1902 the eminent French sociologist Émile Durkheim voiced his concern over a growing lack of moral principles in modern economic relationships. Everywhere he looked in the world of work he perceived distinct signs of normative decay. As an expert in social solidarity he could not help but worry that such a situation existed in so vital a sphere of society. It was as if capitalist industry, trade and commerce had escaped most forms of community control over their activities. Where occupational ethics rich in tradition had once ruled supreme, it now appeared that individual self-aggrandizement was the sole measure of contemporary economic success.

Even more bothersome for Durkheim was the realization that since industrial and commercial affairs had assumed such a pervasive and predominant role in modern society, the disorder that infected the economy would undoubtedly spread like a malignant cancer to the rest of society. Most persons living in an industrialized nation such as France tended to spend a substantial, if not inordinate, proportion of their waking hours in the pursuit of material interests. This meant that the greatest part of their daily existence took place “outside the moral sphere.” Under such circumstances the chaos prevailing in the economy could not possibly be quarantined from the rest of the social community. It would only be a matter of time before public morality, and with it the integration of society, would loosen and crumble.

To counteract this destructive process Durkheim cautiously advocated a return to a corporate, occupational organization of the economy.