. e rst entity in this comparison comprises the opening lines from Reinhard Bendix’s relatively early aempt to justify the comparative method within sociological research:

Like the concepts of other disciplines, sociological concepts should be universally applicable. e concept ‘division of labor’, for instance, refers to the fact that the labor performed in a collectivity is specialized; the concept is universal because we know of no collectivity without such specialization. Where reference is made to a principle of the division of labor over time–irrespective of the particular individuals performing the labor and of the way labor is subdivided (whether by sex, age, skill or whatever)–we arrive at one meaning of the term ‘social organization’. We know of no society that lacks such a principle; furthermore, we can compare and contrast the social organization of two societies by showing how their division of labor diers (Bendix 1963: 532).