Classical Social Theory Essay PDF

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Classical Social Theory Essay Introduction: Anomie is the concept of misbalance within society. It is a concept created by sociologist Emile Durkheim where he believed that norms and values within society must be reinstated effectively within society in order to maintain social order. Durkheim believed that if these norms and values were not instilled correctly it would lead to the collapse of society, he called this anomie. Anomie derives from Durkheim’s study on suicide, which he claimed was the most deviant act within society. One of the types of suicide he found was called ‘anomic suicide’ Durkheim linked this to ‘disillusion and disappointment’ (2016. ANOMIC SUICIDE).

Social Theory Within Society: If we apply Durkheim’s concept of anomie within society, we can see that anomic behavior is going against the norms of society. Rioting is example of anomic behavior, to Durkheim this would seem radical and a breakdown of society, on the other hand, Karl Marx would instead call this a revolution against capitalism. We can see that Durkheim believes that social integrity and having a collective conscience should be the way that society should function, hence why he views riots and rebellions as anomic as there is no longer a collective view. However, Marx believes that a revolution is what is needed to make society balanced and equal, however many countries have not had these revolutions and still have a society that functions well. An article from the Huffington Post talks about ‘Anomie in a World of Social Media’ in which they talk about how ‘Facebook, Twitter and an almost fully-connected world of the Internet, computers, smartphones and cell phones have surely changed how people relate to the world. Some wired people feel reassured that they are part of an ever-larger crowd of friends. Others strangely feel lonelier as they imagine that the legions of people they are connected to do not really "get" them’ (Anomie in a World of Social Media, 2012). We can see from the article that anomie can even be present within social media. Some people may feel that social media is anomic as it may not be representing their true selves, or some may see it as a platform for bullying without exposing your true identity and therefore feel unsafe and insecure which could be anomic as well. Another view of anomie within society is through Durkheim’s study of suicide. ‘In Durkheim’s analysis of suicide rates, he used the concept of social facts to explain why some countries have higher suicide rates than others’ ( Giddens, A and Sutton, P (2013) Sociology page 12). Durkheim managed to link suicide with many external factors such as religion, marriage and divorce; therefore it is possible that these tools of socialisation could have anomic values. This is because if people do not integrate correctly or rebel against these tools, it may possibly lead to anomic behavior such as suicide. In his study of Suicide, Durkheim was able to show ‘that even a highly personal act like suicide is influenced by what happens in the social world’ (Giddens, A and Sutton, P (2013) Sociology page 13) suicide isn’t a solely affected by internal factors but also external ones, someone can commit suicide based on external factors such as high debt, this therefore can be seen as anomic.

Conclusion: In conclusion, clearly anomie is still present in modern society. However will anomie always be present in society? It is likely that there will always be a group of people who will not conform to the norms of society and rebel against them because they are unable to adapt to them. Anomie has always been present in all societies as not everyone conforms correctly, because of this anomie could be seen as a social fact. This is because anomie has been present within society even before the 21st centaury, and will likely be present in future societies. So does anomie help us to understand society? In a way it does because we see anomic behavior as a bad thing therefore this puts society in check and makes us avoid anomic behavior. This is important as it subconsciously makes people in society avoid rebellion and follow the rules, which avoids deviant behavior.

References: ANOMIC SUICIDE. Durkheim linked anomic suicide to disillusionment and disappointment. . 2016. ANOMIC SUICIDE. Durkheim linked anomic suicide to disillusionment and disappointment. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://sociologyindex.com/anomic_suicide.htm. [Accessed 08 March 2016]. Anomie in a World of Social Media. 2012. Anomie in a World of Social Media. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-a-weil/anomie-in-a-world-of-socialmedia_b_1449218.html. [Accessed 10 March 2016]. Giddens, A and Sutton, P (2013) Sociology. 7th edition. Cambridge: Polity Press...