Descriptive Summary of Mechanical and Organic Societies
Emile Durkheim
Morphological Features
1. Size
2. Numbers of parts
3. Nature of parts
4. Arrangement
5. Nature of interrelations
Collective Conscience
1. Volume
2. Intensity
3. Determinateness
4. Content
Mechanical Solidarity
Small
Few
Kinship based
Independent, autonomous
Bound to common conscience and
punitive law
Mechanical Solidarity
High
High
High
Religious, stressing commitment and
conformity to dictates of sacred
powers
Organic Solidarity
Large
Many
Diverse, dominated by economic
and governmental content
Interrelated, mutually interdependent
Bound together by exchange,
contract, norms, and restitutive law
Organic Solidarity
Low
Low
Low
Secular, emphasizing individuality
Based on Turner, Beeghley, and Powers (1998:254)
Turner, Jonathan H., Leonard Beeghley, and Charles H. Powers. 1998. The Emergence of Sociological Theory. 4th
ed. Cincinnati, OH: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
SOC4044 Sociological Theory
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Durkheim's Causal Model of the Division of Labor
Migration
Birth rates
Increased
material
density
Increased
moral
density
Increased
struggle
and
competition
The fittest
survive in
present
occupations
and assume
high-rank
positions
Division of
labor
Social
solidarity
Ecological
concentration
Technological
advances in
communication
and
The less fit
create new
specialities
Produces
needs for
transportation
Based on Turner, Beeghley, and Powers (1998:256)
SOC4044 Sociological Theory
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