Émile Durkheim described two types of solidarity. Briefly compare these two forms of solidarity, using concrete examples to illustrate how they differ. What type of society is each solidarity type associated with? How much power does collective conscience have in each type of solidarity, and why is a weaker collective conscience a problem?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

but should include a description of mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity. Mechanical solidarity has a low division of labor while organic solidarity has a high division of labor. This means that people do many jobs and each person’s job is similar to others in mechanical solidarity. In organic solidarity, this means people are specialized and have jobs that differ from one another. An example of mechanical solidarity might be that everyone in the group farms, cooks, and parents children. An example of organic solidarity would include that only some people specialize in farming while others do not at all, and some people can become chefs while others can simply purchase prepared food and never learn to farm or cook. Mechanical solidarity is associated with simpler and earlier societies, while organic solidarity is associated with modern and larger societies. Earlier, simpler societies with mechanical solidarity tend to have higher collective conscience, which weakens as they move to a larger, more diversified organic solidarity model of society. This is bad, according to Durkheim, because when the collective conscience weakens, people are more likely to feel anomie, or a sense of confusion about their place and what is expected of them in society, and this can lead to feelings of meaninglessness, despair, and raise suicide rates.