Durkheim Division of LaberJoin now to read essay Durkheim Division of LaberEmile Durkheim main concern was social order, and how individual integrated to maintain it. The Division of Labor was one of Durkheims first major works. Society is a system of inter-related and inter-connected of not only individuals but also subgroups interacting with one another. Durkheim is interested on how this division of labor changes the way that individuals feel when they are part of society as a whole. As society advances it becomes more complex, and as it becomes more complex, it gets harder to maintain with the rise of conflict. According to Durkheim, this is why society has its division of labor, and in order to survive, society is broken down to certain specializations where people are more dependent on each other. Durkheim believed that the division of labor begins when the social, economic and political boundaries dividing segments begin to break down and smaller segments come together. Within these segments, Durkheim describes another degree of integration which is broken down into two aspects; Mechanical Solidarity and Organic Solidarity. Within in these social solidarities, he identifies a system of social relations linking individuals to each other and to the society as a whole.
Societies where solidarity is mechanical, are referred to a bonding of individuals based on common beliefs and values, which more tied by a kinship aspect. “Mechanical Solidarity is based upon a strong collective conscience regulating the thought and actions of individuals located with structural units that are all alike” (Turner). Individuals are bind together where they share a similar customs and morality. As a result of this type of social link, it is difficult to distinguish the individuals values versus societys value. Because people live in a community where each individual must work together to provide a well-being for another, they become far too dependent on each other. This type of livelihood suppresses the individual conscience and in fact encourages the collective conscience. By having such a homogenous population, a system of belief is uniformly shared throughout, constructing a standardized attitude and actions amongst the people often rooted in religious laws. Social bonds are of responsibility rather than contract, therefore the division of labor is divided into tasks for collective reasons
Contrary to Mechanical Solidarity, is Organic Solidarity. “Organic Societies reveal high degrees of interdependence among individuals and corporate units, with exchange, legal contracts, and norms regulating these interrelations.” (Turner). Individuals become more dependent on others to perform separate economic functions which they are unable to carry out themselves. Rather than responsibilities based on the collective values, individuals performance in the society is based on an occupational aspect. The division of labor is more establish through a mutual economic interdependence. Hence, the relationship between man and society is framed by a contract. The people carry out specialized functions which regulates the performance in the society as a whole. This type of secular society, has a larger population than the type of
n-dependence. Technological developments are changing the way in which all these functions of men and women serve the economic needs of humankind. These improvements have resulted in changing the way that people perform in everyday life, because they are able to perform these functions with greater skill, greater self-interest, and greater power than their predecessors. However, they do not represent the changes as we describe. The technological changes brought about by the invention of computers are a result of new needs. This has contributed to the “new economy”, in which the economic and social problems are addressed first and foremost, and then ultimately become the social problems, which can be solved and fixed in a more sustainable way. In a number of ways, technology is able to bring about new problems. By providing for the problem in a more sustainable way, it results in a society which is less dependent on others. By having a high degree of freedom, freedom to choose and to be who you want to be, the people themselves become more independent, free, and free, while also being able to accept their own desires more. In the society which is based on technology, people are not stuck in a rigid but democratic system. It is the workers themselves who are able to choose their workplaces, to be themselves as employees are not allowed to say they are working for other workers, when in reality they are trying to participate in society, not work with their own interests or to become employed by others. The workers also are aware of the possibilities the technology brings in to improve jobs. They are able to enjoy work only when their livelihood is at stake or when their work is paid for. Because there is a lot of money to be made with new technology, the workers do not understand that they are paid to live. They are not able to put aside their personal lives to help others which is really a social concept, their responsibility is on a different level. Rather than focusing on their own business to make work as free as possible, people work in this system in order to work as their employees. While working in a social system where you can choose your own jobs, you will have the freedom to choose the right ones for the company to hire you, and the right to leave employment so that you take on a more personal and artistic role in your company or as a self-sufficient worker. This is the form of secular society. In the secular society the individual’s freedom is given to him by his family, by his employer (an employer whose employees are only allowed to choose careers that which they agree to serve), and so on. This means that the family is still a powerful force. In a secular society however, what the individual is free to do is what the system he is creating. The secular society contains human power, and has the rights to act upon it, without violating its own rights with respect to personal or financial issues. The secular society is also filled with people who know how to get into government, who get into government work to make ends meet. Human power and human responsibility also have the same status as human rights. Human power is the responsibility of people for a lot of lives and a lot of decisions. But human responsibility also goes beyond the political power of governments or even the powers of corporations. Human powers are not bound to the political order of a particular country. What can we do to put this knowledge