Durkheim’s concept of ‘anomie’ is simply defined ‘as a condition of instability resulting in the breakdown of standards and values or from a lack of purpose or ideals (The editors of Encyclopaedia britannica, 2014) which stems from Durkheim’s study of suicide (anomic) to create a matrix whereby the ‘breakdown of social standards is necessary for regulation’ and thus the summation that with diversity there will always be deviances. (Curra, 2011). Based on the pre-amble Durkheim as presented a Camusian absurdist world of sisyphean which is simply summize by the first line ‘ inextinguishable thirst is constantly renewed torture’. This essay will to discuss how Durkheim’s concept is applicable and adaptable to be relevant in today’s democratic society through the scope of religion and sex and gender identity in the context of contemporary America.
The world is in constant flux and Durkheim himself identifies two major causes of anomie – the division of labour, and rapid social change (Durkheim, 1893). With division of labour he further outlines ‘mechanical solidarity’ and ‘organic solidarity’ (Durkheim, 1893). The term mechanical solidarity is much more relevant to that of a communist state which focuses on the collective conscience however as society progress, governance and capitalist require the need for efficiency which results in the concept of vertical integration – the division of labour to maximise labour input in achieving allocative efficiency therefore resulting in ‘organic solidarity’ and the growth of individualism. Stalley (1983) parallel’s Durkheim’s anomie with that of Plato’s law of ‘individuals left without any guidance, apart from their own desires have no firm standards’. Howard (2016) elevates the theories by contrasting with Aristotle’s writing to summize that “equality exists but it is based on ethical reciprocity”. Aristotle thus defends against Plato’s The Republic which suggests with each recognition of deviances, society regulates itself to achieve homogenesis and ultimtately paving the way for a tyrannical dictatorial state which is completely paradoical for a state founded on division of labor and characterized by individualism could be generalized onto a singular plane. Durkheim himself already understood how Aristotle theory on Dualism of the human nature will not function beyond the modern society as stated in Individualism and the Individuals due to the amount of slippages.
The current world is too volatile with too many dynamic changes. Pearce (1989) and Durkheim’s The Elementary Form of the Religious life – notes that “everything social begins with religions”. In the pivotal transiton from mechanical to organic solidarity; societal representation morphs to sancity of the individual (Durkheim 1951). With religion at it’s core, it is easily to see the unification of individuals into a societal unit and hence social integration. The shepherding of indivduals into units it makes it easier to understand society as the units would be governed by the same principles. Understand the principles of the religion/cult, understand the individuals. Croft (2011) on Putnam’s American Grace, How Religion Divides and Unites Us points out that apparently the opposite exists where by a person who is more religious is likely to be more conservatives on certain issues. With the recent US election, Glaude (2017) coins the term “ the Trump effect”, with the exit poll data of 81 percent of white evangelicals, 60 percent white catholics and 61 percent of the mormons voted for Trump resulting as Glaude said ‘a white candidate running for president who embraced views that were widely considered racist’ from building a wall to the Religious Liberty Accomodation act is an example of Durkheim’s view on religion. Further cross-referencing of Durkheim’s statement on religion against that of Locke’s social contract theory would ultimately prove that durkheim’s theory on anomie is a social phenomenom which is based on observations of the behaviour patterns of man. The ‘beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral commuinity called a church’ and ‘ a chuch is defined by ‘members are united in that they think in the same world’ (Durkheim 1912) hence despite the 2016 election being the first election with a white christian minority, Durkheims theory is still in full effect and applicable in contemporary society.
Lehmann (1994) reconstructs Durkheim’s theories of women by identifying a divergent that the sensibility of women is rudimentary which is accordingly perceived that through the low suicide rate of women, it reflects their low degree of civilisation and hence the conclusion that women are relatively immune to social forces. This statement is contradictory to National Center for Health Statistic who noted that “The suicide rate is up 63% for women aged 45-65 and up 200% for girls aged 10-14.” With Holmes (2016) suggesting that the main cause for the rise would be due to stigma, thus contesting Durkheim’s claim that women ‘are less sociable’. Women in today’s time au contraire are fare more susceptible to society’s backlash espescialy given the strive for equality. As mentioned earlier, as long as there’s diversity there will be deviances. Since Durkeheims’s time of the 19th century, the female form has been steamrolling the boundaries of prescriptive stereotypes. Women empowerment is a driving force in 21st century America, and as women sought to be on par with the men in the machista society; the male corpus in turn feels insecure and hence threatened by their feminine counterparts thus amplifying and reverting the focus back onto the women. The needless desire to fit into ideals and expectations is as Durkheim’s presents of ‘condem[ning] oneself to a state of perpetual unhappiness’.
Durkheim (1951) anomie theory also occurs when man is detached from their society pressumably due to the inability to cohere expectations. The above has touched on the displacement of man in terms of race and binary gender. However as time progress, one realizes that strict dichotimies are slowly phasing out and the world has entered the phase of gender displayed versus gender expressed. Social identity is now rendered more unstable than ever and thus arising in minority stress (Meyer 2003). In the scope of LGBTQ+, the stress is caused by the supressed and concealed identity. Schreiber (2017) on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the likelihood of suicide by sexual minority youth is two to seven times greater than their heterosexual couterparts. As Condonreli (2016) pointed out on Bauman (1997) Fluid Identity and Palese (2013) on liquid modernity – life is transitory. To be able to meet the standards of normality, humans must be reactive to the society. For the case of deivance in gender binary, displacement between the self creates the negative effect of increase in psychological and social issue. However all of it is resolvable simple through familiarity and human centricism of simple social integrator frameworks. Society as a collective of life must accept that life is a collective of life.
In conclusion, Durkheim’s theory of anomie is relatively applicable to that of contemporary society. Durkheim theorize anomie in Suicide during the period of modernity and came to the conclusion that life has no purpose due to society, family and religion/ the church; one of camusian absurdist realism. Durkheim believe that individualism coincides with the revelation of an illusive happiness. It is simply not about conflict arising due to moral authority and deviances but rather as Vanborre (2012) mentioned “ it is the mobility of intelligence that regulates itself exactly by the mobility of things. It is the moving continuity of our attention to life” and one must simply function as a person of common sense in order to minimize friction resulting from divergence and deviances.