Durkheim’s concept of “anomie” refers to the breaking down of bonds between society and the individual. More than that, though, it refers to a type of society where there is little moral guidance given to individuals in figuring out their way (Merton, 1938). What this leads to is a society where individuals fail to adhere to any sort of duty or social contract toward one another (Herbert, 1991). While this concept could be analyzed in the abstract or in the context of Durkheim’s society, it can also be applied to current society, which is suffering from some of the same things.
Anomie certainly still exists in today’s world, both within individual communities and within society at large. In some sense, anomie can be used to describe a phenomenon that plays out in society today. Many people have differences in their personal practical preferences and the idealistic values which they claim to cling to. For instance, in the United States, there is an overall societal ethic of equality and justice. In practice, however, many groups are willing to deny equality to a wide range of groups. There exists a basic mismatch between the individual preferences and beliefs of people and the overall societal values. This mismatch is critical to the concept that Durkheim put forward, and it is still highly relevant in American society and other societies around the world.
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Within our capitalist society, there is a tremendous mismatch of values and goals. Capitalism itself is driven by a profit motive, but many individuals are driven and motivated by things other than profit. There is a basic disagreement at the heart of American society. In one sense, society drives people to be more consumption-based. Advertisements encourage irresponsible spending habits. Likewise, companies are almost always targeting people. At the same time, individuals need more than just the newest thing in order to be happy. Excessive consumption patterns match up well with the goals of capitalism, but they do not match up as well with the basic needs of human beings, as defined by Maslow’s hierarchy.
In this way, society provides no real moral guidance to individuals, and in the same way, society fails to provide individuals with a proper means of contextualizing the economic reality. Rather, accomplishment and spending have, in many ways, dominated the conversation. People are often led to believe that in order to be happy, they just need to make a little bit more money or have the next thing. This type of system fails to meet the true needs of individuals, though. This leads to confusion among the population, and quite often, it fuels a culture of depression, as people are made to feel inadequate for not achieving enough (Powell, 1958). Society seems to be telling people that one thing is important, while people sense, inside, that other things are more important. This is a mismatch of values similar to what Dirkheim described.
One can look to holidays like Christmas as a perfect example of this phenomenon. There is a standing tradition that one looks to the holiday as a time of togetherness and family. In come cultures, there is an expectation that one celebrates the birth of Jesus. Yet, Christmas usually morphs into a holiday of excess and consumption, in direct contradiction to the state values of the holiday itself. Christmas itself is not a problem, of course. Rather, it is a symptom of the values mismatch that drives deep at the heart of many groups in America. Growing up in a society built around accomplishment and capitalism, it is difficult to hold onto any concept or value that is not centered on the next big purchase.
- Herbert, C. (1991). Culture and anomie: Ethnographic imagination in the nineteenth century. University of Chicago Press.
- Merton, R. K. (1938). Social structure and anomie. American sociological review, 3(5), 672-682.
- Powell, E. H. (1958). Occupation, status, and suicide: toward a redefinition of anomie. American Sociological Review, 131-139.
