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Summary Of Tr Anomie By Emile Durkheim

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Emile Durkheim, father of sociology believed that formal institutions were the key to a successful society. He believed that formal institutions fought the cult of the individual by bringing people together with similar interest or forcing them to have to work with one another towards a common goal. An example of a formal institution is sports, sports are deeply embedded in the American culture and institutions. Sports stars are perceived as role models for young people in the society. Sport at the professional and college levels are major economic assets for cities. For educational institutions, the sport industry is a multi million dollar a year enterprise. For example each school that which makes it to the NCAA Basketball Tournament receives a half million dollars per game and a minimum of $300k just for being in a college football bowl game. …show more content…

In this tense, Sports have one major flaw. There will always be a winner and a loser, which in a sense separates the fans into haves and havenots (people who have the victory and people who don't have the victory). Durkheim's theory that when society begins to separate its people it starts to feed the cult of the individual doesn't necessarily apply here. Yes, sometimes animosity can arise between overzealous fans, or players and coaches can go overboard with their antics. But in general, there is a healthy competitive nature encompassed by a sense of camaraderie. You can go anywhere in the nation, and if you are wearing your team’s logo, you are sure to strike up a conversation with another sports fan. It serves as a common ground for people from different states, ethnicities, countries, religions or whatever it might be that society has doubted upon you that makes you different then the rest, to connect on, and if that doesn't prove Durkheim's theory that formal institutions are the key to a successful society then I don't know what

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