Durkheim

Durkheim lived at the same time as Weber, but they view on a division of labour and influence of that, differed significantly. Durkheim held a more optimistic view on the division of labour. The division of labour in his opinion is a sign of a developed society because there is a need to exchange results of the activity, perform complementary functions. He thought that division of labour brings diversity, and the more it is, the stronger the people's desire for unity and exchange. He argues that division of labour led from mechanical to organic solidarity. Durkheim believed that pre-industrial societies were based on mechanical solidarity when people feel solidarity because they are similar. When society develops and work

2. Durkheim: What term does Durkheim associate with social solidarity? How do societies achieve it organically and mechanically? What did he think threatened social solidarity?

Organic solidarity arose as a result of the industrial revolution when society became more multifaceted and new ways of working emerged. This saw a decline in the collective conscience regarding shared morals and beliefs as society began to progress and expand. The division of labour that arises as a result of organic solidarity is complex and varied, resulting in people becoming more individualistic and yet also interdependent. Society’s social bonds now centred around the fact that people were dependant on each other for the good and services required in their day-to-day lives. (McDonald, 2009)

The societal structure embodies the collectivist principles set by the world council. Example is on (Rand 19) “We are one in all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, one, indivisible and

Furthermore, Durkheim theorized a different type of solidarity forms through Organic Solidarity. Durkheim utilized biology analogies comparing human society to organisms in science (Sociology Index). Comparing Mechanical Solidarity to Organic Solidarity, diversity is the difference, within Organic Solidarity the division of labor is an evident difference. Within Organic Solidarity individuals experience a weaker bond within society, they experience a stronger sense of self but lack a connection with others (Palumbo et al, 2005). The Organic Society is less punitive, seeking restitution from individuals who violate laws or norms (Ritzer, p 196). Durkheim presented the concept of Anomie within society, which more than likely experienced within Organic Solidarity. Organic Solidarity based upon diversity when depressions, economic crisis and personal upheaval are experienced, the individual living in Organic Solidarity may feel there is no one to talk to, and they may feel isolated and in a sense on their own.

However there were also downsides to this complex division of labor. He worried that without the need for co-operation, people would not make the things that other people needed. Without this flow of people doing things for each other, how would society stay formed and efficient, when there were no longer strong religious views, Ethnic minorities etc?

Two films, Devil's Playground (2001) and the barn raising scene in Witness (1985), will be evaluated using Emile Durkheim's theory of the division of labor as the causal factor of social solidarity. To investigate these films on this basis, it is imperative to understand the Durkheim's theory. In The Division of Labor in Society, Emile Durkheim studies the effects of the division of labor in society apart from economics. He posits that it is the division of labor that determines the social solidarity. He claims, "We are therefore led to consider the division of labour in a new light.

A.) Mechanical Solidarity (Pg.103): Durkheim’s term for the unity (a shared consciousness) that people feel as a result of performing the same or similar tasks

The division of labor, classified by industrialization, represents a rise in organic solidarity and a decline in mechanical solidarity. In a society where mechanical solidarity reigns supreme, people feel connected through what they have in common, such as similar work, educational and religious values, and lifestyles. Durkheim states this operates predominantly in traditional and small scale societies such as tribes. Societies of mechanical nature tend to be not very complex, with tasks themselves being general and simple. Social class is also easily distinguishable by mannerisms of eating and dressing such as when a tribal chief is better fed and better clothed than a

He believed by punishing individuals on their wrongdoings it reinforced social solidarity and strengthens society’s common values (Saarsteiner, n.d). He establishes two different types of society. These are organic and mechanical solidarity. Durkheim notes that the collective consciousness is more common in a society with mechanical solidarity rather than in a society with organic solidarity (Edles and Appelrouth, 2005: 236). Durkheim suggests this is because the nature of solidarity is varied in a modern

Simply put, their unity is based on similarity. For example, tribes of people that live together in a common culture are members of mechanical solidarity. They are unified based on their shared lifestyle. Organic solidarity societies are complex, industrialized societies that develop out of differences, rather than likenesses, between individuals. This form of social organization is based on the belief that people come together and stay together due to their increasing mutual dependence. Each person depends on the other for their skill because it is different than their own. For example, the state legislature is made of an organic solidarity society. Members represent their own communities and stay together because they are dependent upon one another to adequately run the government. Another concept Durkheim created was anomie. Anomie, or normlessness, is the breakdown of social norms in a society. Individuals cannot find their place in society without clear rules to guide them; therefore, changing conditions as well as adjustment of life can lead to dissatisfaction, conflict, and deviance.

As people become more of their social role, they tend to lose their personal beliefs and values. Organic solidarity is social interdependency based on a high degree of specialization in roles. An example from the movie is when Katherine begins to show her students

In a society of mechanical solidarity, “the individual is not his own master; solidarity is” (McIntosh, Durkheim 193) and individuals discover lasting unities through the family and religion. They then establish repressive laws and institutions all around a standardized moral order held together by individual economic independence and the acceptance of other’s positive contributions to society. However, as the division of labor increases, workers dependent upon each other are produced due to a specialized system requiring the goods and services of other laborers. The collective efforts of the work force become blurred and abstract, forming an organic solidarity between them and a decline in Durkheim’s concept of the conscience collective. Interdependence becomes emphasized with the state having a larger role in organizing society and taking away solidarity of the family and religion. Durkheim prefers this form because “society becomes more capable of collective action at the same time that

Durkheim’s influence on macro sociological theory was that less developed societies allowed for a more common interest among all the residents and who shared beliefs and core values (Burke, 2015). With more modern

Roles and institutions are similar to bodily organs, as they are dependent on one another (McDonell, 2012). He refers to two types of solidarity, mechanical and organic, where each produces different individuals in society (Shortell, n.d.). Mechanical solidarity is concerned with undifferentiated social structure with little division of labour. These societies were generally rural, religious, authoritarian and had constraints on social facts and little social mobility. Organic solidarity is modernised and is characterised by refined division of labour, increased urbanisation, low religiosity, high degree of individuality and increased social mobility. Societies exhibiting mechanical solidarity tend to be unified as they are all engaged in similar tasks and responsibilities. These societies are held together by the specialisation of people and their need for the services of many others. Thus, Durkheim concluded that social order and individual autonomy are compatible (Ritzer, 1996: 79-80). As modern societies differ from earlier ones, then solidarity changes as a society becomes more complex (Shortell, n.d.). This complexity arises other problems which Durkheim discussed in the trends of suicide and anomie.