Final answer:
The division of labor creates different forms of ownership and social relations, particularly in capitalist societies where the working class has little control and no ownership of their labor products. This system, exacerbated by the Industrial Revolution, results in alienation as described by Marx.
Step-by-step explanation:
The quote you've provided touches on the concept of the division of labor and its implications on ownership and social relations within different economic systems. Historically, the division of labor has evolved, particularly with the Industrial Revolution, leading to a distinction between the working class (proletariat) and the owners of production (bourgeoisie/capitalists). In a traditional setup, family groups determined how goods were produced and distributed, but industrialism introduced a system where workers exchanged labor for wages within a factory setting, with little control over the production and no ownership of the products they made, a concept described by Karl Marx as alienation.
Examples such as workers on an assembly line highlight division of labor, where each worker is responsible for only a small part of the assembly process. This division of labor increases efficiency but also reinforces the separation of labor power from the ownership of the means of production and the commodities produced. This industrial system is characterized by the fact that the workers receive only a wage and do not share in the ownership of either the products they create or the means used to create them.