Durkheim's Mechanical and Organic Solidarity: what holds society together?

Summary

Emile Durkheim, known as the father of Sociology, is highlighted in this script as a key figure in modern social theory alongside Marx and Weber. Durkheim's focus on social facts, such as norms and values, and his concept of solidarity as society's cohesion, are explored. The script contrasts mechanical solidarity in pre-modern societies, bound by shared experiences and values, with organic solidarity in modern societies, characterized by interdependence and specialization. Durkheim's views on individualism and the division of labor are critiqued, particularly in relation to Marx's conflict theory, and the video concludes by questioning Durkheim's oversight of conflict's role in shaping society.

Takeaways

• 📚 Emile Durkheim is recognized as the father of Sociology, focusing on social rather than individual explanations for societal phenomena.
• 🔍 Durkheim introduced the concept of 'social facts' which include norms, culture, values, law, morality, population size, political institutions, and technology, all of which influence each other and people.
• 🧩 He differentiated between mechanical solidarity found in pre-Modern societies, characterized by similarity and collective consciousness, and organic solidarity in modern societies, characterized by interdependence and specialization.
• 👨‍🌾 In mechanical solidarity, individuals are bound together by commonalities, with religion and shared experiences playing a significant role in maintaining social cohesion.
• 🏙️ Organic solidarity arises in modern societies where individuals are highly specialized and rely on each other, akin to organs in a human body, each performing a unique function.
• 🛍️ Individualism is a key value in modern societies, especially visible in consumer culture, but Durkheim noted that it doesn't promote social solidarity as it attaches individuals to themselves rather than to society.
• 🔧 The division of labor in modern societies creates interdependence, which is a foundation of social cohesion, but Durkheim also acknowledged potential issues such as enforced and anomic division of labor.
• 👮‍♂️ Durkheim observed differences in law between mechanical and organic societies, with the latter focusing on restitutive law to correct and reform rather than retributive law focused on punishment.
• 🌐 He attributed the transition from mechanical to organic solidarity to 'dynamic density,' a term for the increasing number of people and the degree of interactivity between them, evident in contemporary globalization.
• 🤔 Durkheim's perspective has been criticized for not adequately recognizing the role of conflict and class struggle in shaping society, which are central to theories like Marxism.
• 💡 Despite its limitations, Durkheim's concept of mechanical and organic solidarity offers an insightful framework for understanding the structure and evolution of societies.

Q & A

Who are the three big names in Modern Social theory?

The three big names in Modern Social theory are Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber.

What is Emile Durkheim known as and what was his focus?

Emile Durkheim is known as the father of Sociology, the formal study of society. His focus was on social rather than individual explanations for societal phenomena.

What did Durkheim term as 'social facts'?

Durkheim termed social facts as norms, culture, values, law, morality, population size, political institutions, and technology. These are all aspects that affect one another and people, but cannot be understood at the level of the individual.

How does Durkheim differentiate between mechanical and organic solidarity?

Durkheim differentiated between mechanical solidarity, which is the cohesion in pre-Modern societies based on similarity and collective consciousness, and organic solidarity, which is the cohesion in modern societies based on interdependence despite differences.

What is the role of religion in pre-Modern mechanical solidarity according to Durkheim?

Religion plays a significant role in pre-Modern mechanical solidarity as it contributes to the shared experiences and values that bind people together in societies with high similarity.

How does Durkheim describe the division of labor in modern societies?

In modern societies, Durkheim describes the division of labor as highly specialized roles where individuals rely on each other for survival and the functioning of society, akin to organs in a human body.

What does Durkheim suggest as the cause of the transition from mechanical to organic solidarity?

Durkheim suggests that the transition from mechanical to organic solidarity is caused by 'dynamic density,' which refers to the number of people in a society and the degree of interactivity between them.

How does Durkheim view the role of crime in society?

Durkheim viewed crime as a natural and healthy feature of society because it reaffirms society's laws and helps clarify societal norms through the occurrence of transgressions and their subsequent handling.

What are the two types of problematic division of labor that Durkheim identifies?

Durkheim identifies 'enforced division of labor' where economic power or status determines roles rather than qualifications, and 'anomic division of labor' where excessive individualism leads to a lack of moral clarity and isolation in specialized activities.

How does Durkheim's view on class conflict differ from Karl Marx's?

While Marx sees capitalism and modern society as founded on domination, exploitation, and alienation, Durkheim does not consider economic baptism or class conflict as major factors. He views class conflict as a symptom rather than a cause of social problems.

What is the criticism of Durkheim's view on the division of labor and conflict?

The criticism is that Durkheim's view fails to capture the flaws in the division of labor and the significant role of conflicts, such as class struggles and economic inequalities, which are foundational aspects of the modern world.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Emile Durkheim's Social Theories

Emile Durkheim, recognized as the father of Sociology, is highlighted for his focus on social explanations over individual ones. He introduced the concept of 'social facts' which include norms, culture, values, law, and morality, emphasizing that these exist in the interactions between people, not within individuals. Durkheim's theories on solidarity, which is the cohesion in society, are explained through two forms: mechanical solidarity in pre-modern societies, characterized by collective consciousness and similarity among people, and organic solidarity in modern societies, characterized by interdependence despite differences. He also discusses the transition from mechanical to organic solidarity driven by 'dynamic density,' a term for population size and interaction, and how this leads to increased competition and efficiency through the division of labor.

05:04

🛠️ The Evolution of Society and Critique

This paragraph delves into the evolution of societal laws and the function of crime within Durkheim's perspective. In mechanical societies, laws are retributive, with punishments reflecting a collective moral outrage. Organic societies, with their diverse beliefs, focus on restitutive law, aiming to correct and reform. Durkheim views crime as a natural part of society that helps clarify societal laws. The transition from mechanical to organic solidarity is attributed to increasing 'dynamic density,' leading to competition and the rise of the division of labor. However, the critique points out that Durkheim's theories do not sufficiently account for class conflict and economic inequality, which are significant in shaping the modern world. His emphasis on solidarity overlooks the profound impact of conflict in societal development.

Keywords

💡Emile Durkheim

Emile Durkheim is a foundational figure in sociology, often referred to as the 'father of sociology.' He is known for his emphasis on social facts and societal structures rather than individual psychology. In the video, Durkheim's work is central to understanding how societies are held together through different types of solidarity, which is a key theme of the video.

💡Social Facts

Social facts are the external societal elements that Durkheim argued have a life of their own, independent of individuals. They include norms, culture, values, law, morality, population size, political institutions, and technology. The video explains that social facts affect individuals and society, and cannot be understood at the individual level, which is a fundamental concept in Durkheim's sociological theory.

💡Solidarity

Solidarity, in Durkheim's view, is the cohesion that holds society together. It is the sense of belonging that individuals feel towards the collective. The video discusses two types of solidarity: mechanical and organic, which are central to understanding the structural changes in societies from pre-modern to modern times.

💡Mechanical Solidarity

Mechanical solidarity is a type of social cohesion found in pre-modern societies where people have similar roles, values, and experiences. The video uses the example of a society where everyone, like 'Sven,' is a bearded white potato farmer who believes in Thor, illustrating the uniformity that characterizes mechanical solidarity.

💡Organic Solidarity

Organic solidarity is the social cohesion found in modern societies characterized by interdependence and the division of labor. Unlike mechanical solidarity, people in modern societies have different roles and values, yet they rely on each other for survival and function, as the video explains using the analogy of a human body with specialized organs.

💡Collective Consciousness

Collective consciousness, as discussed in the video, refers to the shared values and beliefs that bind individuals together in a society. It is a significant aspect of mechanical solidarity where people have common experiences and similar worldviews, contributing to societal cohesion.

💡Division of Labor

The division of labor is a concept where work is specialized and distributed among individuals in a society. In the video, it is highlighted as a key factor in creating organic solidarity, where individuals are interdependent due to their specialized roles, which is a departure from the uniformity of mechanical solidarity.

💡Individualism

Individualism is the emphasis on the value and interests of the individual over the collective. The video points out that while individualism is collectively valued in modern societies, it does not promote social solidarity because it attaches individuals to themselves rather than to society.

💡Consumerism

Consumerism is the cultural and economic system that encourages the acquisition of goods and services to gratify the self. The video discusses how consumerism is a manifestation of individualism in modern societies, which is foundational to the economy and social structure.

💡Dynamic Density

Dynamic density is Durkheim's term for the increase in the number of people in a society and the degree of interactivity between them. The video explains that as dynamic density increases, competition rises, leading to the development of more efficient systems like the division of labor, which underpins organic solidarity.

💡Anomic Division of Labor

Anomic division of labor is a concept where individuals are left without a clear idea of moral behavior due to excessive individualism and specialization. The video mentions it as a problem recognized by Durkheim, where people may feel isolated and adrift in their specialized roles, performing meaningless tasks.

💡Conflict Theory

Conflict theory, associated with Karl Marx, posits that society is shaped by class struggles and conflicts. The video contrasts this with Durkheim's perspective, which downplays the role of class conflict in social problems, suggesting that Durkheim's theories do not fully capture the conflicts that are a significant part of societal development.

Highlights

Emile Durkheim is considered one of the founding figures in modern social theory, alongside Karl Marx and Max Weber.

Durkheim focused on social rather than individual explanations for societal phenomena, introducing the concept of 'social facts'.

Social facts, according to Durkheim, include norms, culture, values, laws, morality, population size, political institutions, and technology.

Durkheim proposed two types of solidarity: mechanical solidarity for pre-modern societies and organic solidarity for modern societies.

Mechanical solidarity is characterized by similarity among individuals, with shared values and beliefs, exemplified by pre-modern societies.

Organic solidarity is based on interdependence among individuals with different roles and experiences, typical of modern societies.

In modern societies, individuals rely on each other for various specialized functions, creating a network of interdependence.

Durkheim likened organic solidarity to a human body, where different organs (individuals) perform specialized tasks to keep the system functioning.

Durkheim noted that while individualism is a key value in modern western societies, it does not promote social solidarity.

Durkheim distinguished between retributive law, common in mechanical solidarity, and restitutive law, typical of organic solidarity.

Durkheim saw crime as a natural and healthy feature of society, reaffirming social laws through transgressions and their consequences.

The transition from mechanical to organic solidarity is driven by 'dynamic density', the number of people and their interactions in a society.

Durkheim argued that increased dynamic density leads to greater competition and the rise of specialized divisions of labor.

Durkheim acknowledged potential problems with the division of labor, including enforced and anomic division of labor, but viewed them as temporary.

Critics like Karl Marx argued that Durkheim underestimated the significance of class conflict and economic power in shaping modern society.

Durkheim's focus on social cohesion and solidarity overlooked the profound impact of conflict and inequality in modern societies.

Durkheim's theories remain relevant, offering insights into phenomena like consumerism and globalization in contemporary society.

Transcripts

Emile Durkheim is one of the three big names in Modern Social theory next to Karl Marx and max weber

Durkheim's called the father of Sociology the formal study of society so he focused on social rather than

Individual explanations for things when looking at racism, for example, he wouldn't look at individual Psychology and circumstances

He'd look at stuff like economic inequality or media or migration

Durkheim had a name for this social stuff. He called them social facts so norms culture values law morality

Population size political institutions technology, they're all social facts social facts affect one another and they affect people

But while social facts have their roots in individuals they can't be understood at the level of the individual

Law and morality aren't things that exist inside the heads of individuals they exist in the network of interactions between people

Like how consciousness exists not in any one neuron nor pineal gland

But in the networks that they form point being durkheim was into social explanations

so I've got a basic idea of what to accounts about let's look at one of these big ideas, so

Solidarity is the cohesion in society what holds it together. It's the feeling the individual members have that they were part of the whole

Durkheim proposed two different ways that solidarity can work

mechanical solidarity for pre-Modern societies and organic solidarity for modern societies

What's pre-modern mechanical Society like well?

let's say you're a bloke called sven you'd be white and

Bearded and you'd believe in thor

And you'd farm potatoes for a living and everyone around you would also be bearded white people also called sven who also believed in thor

And also farm potatoes and since you and everyone else you interact with does basically the same stuff as you they have the same

Experiences as you hold the same values [of] course realistically there will probably be some

Differences and divisions men and women might have different social roles there might be a leader of some kind with greater responsibilities and privileges

But the point is that for the most part people in their societies are bound together by commonalities similitudes and likenesses.

What Durkheim calls collective consciousness.

Religion is a big part of this, but all the little shared experiences matter too. It all contributes to the basis of Pre-Modern mechanical solidarity

Similarity now Modern Society is obviously very different there are lots of different people with different gods different jobs different

Experiences different values there isn't a lot of similarity here, so what holds society together

the answer according to durkheim is

Interdependence what this means is that while all these people are very different they rely on each other

unlike sven here who is pretty much self sufficient as long as he's content with potatoes the modern person relies on the butcher and the

Policeman and the Banker and the teacher in the bus driver and the child laborers who make our clothes and the person who makes the

Intertubes work we need each other and that's what holds Modern Society together the analogy here

is that organic Society is like a human body with individual organs each doing their own specialized job to keep the whole system working.

There's still some collective consciousness here some similarity

but it's limited [to] some very general and indeterminate ways of thought and sentiment which leaves [a] room open for a growing variety of

Individual differences those are Durkheim's words

And they're a pretty good reflection of modern society right we all have pretty different experiences and values

But there are some basics that we all share in how we live and think and feel. One thing in particular

That's valued by Most Modern western Societies is individualism, Emphasis on the value and interests of the individual rather than wider society

Individualism is particularly visible in the culture of consumerism

The endless acquisition of things in order to gratify the self that is economically and socially

Foundational in the Modern World, I mean just turn on a TV

We are constantly told that we are free unique

individuals living and thinking and buying in whatever ways satisfies or expresses asked personally, so

Individualism is one of the few things collectively valued by Modern Society durkheim likens up to a religion

But he also points out that even though individualism is collectively valued

It doesn't promote social solidarity because it's not to society that it attaches us. It is to ourselves.

So one of the few things that just about everyone does have in common in Western Modern Society ironically does not unite us

we are very much separate individuals [bound] together largely by our reliance on one another so one of the key differences between

Mechanical and Organic solidarity is division of labor in a pre-Modern society everyone does basically the same stuff

Especially if you take it back to hunter-Gatherer societies, but in modern societies everyone has these highly specialized roles

Specialization is powerful individual people can make specific individual [bids] which come together to make something that no one person could have made alone

But a consequence of individuals only knowing how to make their own specialized bit is that they can't survive alone.

So again organic solidarity is based on specialization which creates

Interdependence, which is the basis of social cohesion in one societies one other difference is related to law so in a mechanical society everyone

Tends to have the same values

So when someone breaks the rules people respond emotionally and intensely so you get these harsh biblical and medieval punishments

In organic societies on the other hand everyone believes different things there isn't this great unified morality

So you usually don't get this huge collective mob outrage thing so much

But since everyone depends on everyone else to follow the rules the focus of law is on righting wrongs

Making sure that the system keeps working so instead of getting creative with our punishments

We focus on correcting and reforming people who break the rules at least in theory in Durkheim's words

the judge speaks of law and says nothing of punishment

This is called restitutive law distinct from retributive

Law interestingly Durkheim saw crime as a natural and healthy feature of society it sort of reaffirms and makes clear

Society's laws to have transgressions occur and be dealt with which you know is an old argument

Is there no way to reaffirm?

Society's laws without breaking them and disrupting society it's hard to see Chronic violent crime as a

Healthy part of society but anyway durkheim also discussed what causes the transition from Pre-Modern mechanical solidarity?

to Modern Organic solidarity

He said, it's caused by Dynamic density his term for the number of people in a society and the degree of interactivity between them

We see this in contemporary

Globalization People goods money and information are all moving across the globe faster and further and easier than ever before

Dynamic density is increasing and has been for some time so durkheim argues that as dynamic density increases competition increases

Creating a natural dry for society to find more efficient ways of doing things so system like the division of labor

Arise and gradually become a foundation of organic solidarity

according to durkheim organic solidarity

Interdependence comes from greater density and interactivity so now a really quick Criticism Karl

Marx founded a line of thought called conflict theory he wrote in his communist manifesto that the history of all Hitherto existing society

Is the history [of] class Struggles freeman and slave Patrician and Plebeian blah blah Blah oppressor and Oppressed?

Marxist thought sees capitalism and therefore Modern Society as [being] founded on domination exploitation

And alienation now durkheim does say that there can be problems with the division of labor?

One is what he calls the enforced division of labor

he says sometimes if changes too fast or society otherwise messes up you might get a situation where

Economic power or status is determining who performs what economic role rather than actual qualifications?

Another kind of problem [he] calls the anomic division of labor basically

There's too much

Individualism and people are cut adrift in their highly specialized activities left without a clear idea of what is and is not

Moral behavior in this state of anomie people are isolated reduced to the repetition of Meaningless tasks?

Durkheim recognizes both of these things as bad, but save them is unusual and temporary phenomena that society quickly corrects with new Rules and systems

Basically durkheim doesn't think economic Baptism class conflict [are] a big deal to the extent that he recognizes class conflict as a thing he argues

That it's not the cause but merely a symptom of social problems, so easy, right?

It does seem [pretty] clear [that] there are severe and unjust imbalances of power in the world that arise from the division of labor

Look at World Wealth

Inequality at how much tax big companies pay at what goes on in the special economic zones [where] all our phones are made look at

Revolutions slavery social equality movements class conflict and the enforced and anomic division of labour are not only more than brief and rare

aberrations, but pretty foundational parts of how the world works

Durkheim just didn't sufficiently recognize Conflicts generally

It's been pointed out that durkheim one of the most significant social theorists I could offer little

Sociological explanation or consolation on the first world war probably the biggest world event of his time

Durkheim's whole Social thought is so focused on

Solidarity that it fails to see conflict and conflict clearly is a profound influence on Society throughout history

so durkheim's contrast between mechanical and organic solidarity is a pretty interesting way of looking in Society and contemporary phenomena like

Consumerism and globalization illustrate that it's a pretty accurate conception of the Modern world

But it fails to capture the flaws in the division of labor described by Marx and Conflicts generally which are major

Forces shaping the Modern World

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