The Problem of Conformity: Achieving Cooperation

Durkheim on Deviance

The problem of convincing individuals to operate in non-rational cooperation: Classic Prisoner’s Dilemma

Problem solved?

Pre-Contractual Solidarity:•The collective sense of belonging to a community

& • The related sense of obligation to the welfare of the community

Achieving Cooperation

(Pre-contractual) Solidarity

• Experienced at multiple levels– Individual Level: Social Bond– Collective/Structural Level: Solidarity

• What creates social solidarity?

Social Integration

Achieving Cooperation

Social Integration

2 kinds of Integration:– Normative (cultural) integration

• Achieved by processes of internalization of collective sentiments• To internalize a belief system is to adopt it as one’s own

– Structural integration• Achieved by one’s position within a social structure; one’s

embeddedness in a network of relationships• Marginalized groups less likely to be structurally integrated – leads

to deviance defined by dominant groups• Structural Integration determines the social location from which

cultural learning takes place: integration takes place in segregated social locations

Solidarity & Historical Context

• Historical context for Durkheim? Industrial Revolution– Complexity of Groups varies directly with the

Degree of Differentiation (esp. Structural Diff.)– Industrial Revolution rapidly increases

complexity of society

• Historical shift from Mechanical to Organic Social Organization (or solidarity)

Types of Solidarity• Mechanical Solidarity

– Based on concrete experience. Consensus is generated from shared experiences; force.

– Implies a low level of structural differentiation. • Organic Solidarity

– Based more on abstractness of social values – Also based on structural dependency (promoted by division of labor,

social complexity & diversity)– What does this mean for forging consensus? – Results in generally weaker bonding than Mechanical Solidarity

Rituals provide one way to share/reinforce collective sentiments (values, beliefs, norms of community)

What are some of the potential outcomes of a shift from Mechanical to Organic solidarity? Increases in (often associated with urbanism)…

- Anomie - Norm Conflicts - Social Mobility - Individualism - Materialism

Individual Level Integration Produced by the Social Bond

Social Bonding has 2 purposes:– Attachment to socially given needs & ideals– Regulation of desires, aspiration, & appetite

Bonds result in:– Sense of belonging to a community– Sense of obligation for the collective good

All social systems (groups) must provide the mechanisms for successful bonding. Mechanisms must be powerful and mutually healthy for individuals & the group. The burden is on the system to provide for bonding

How is this accomplished? Socialization

Contemporary US Society

Marked by Organic Solidarity– Complex– Diverse– Bonding less strong– What is the nature of American collective sentiments?

What are our values as a collective?– Social Integration at the societal level is less complete – Outcome: less consensus, more conflict– Leads to advent of Conflict Approaches to Deviance