Durkheim

In Emile Durkheim's Division of Labor he speaks of solidarity as the basis of society. He begins his argument stating that the division of labor is seen in all aspects of life. Also, professions are becoming more specialized and it is normal for everyone to have a specific function within society. This specialization renders everyone interdependent: solidarity. He states that an effective way to study solidarity is to look at what is produced from it, namely laws. He discusses that laws can be either repressive or civil and that repressive laws are derived from necessities in society and are ingrained in the collective conscience. This collective conscience does not evolve generation to generation, and this solidarity is losing its power. The higher degree of specialization, the more the collective conscience is separated from society. This plays a role in social inequality.

I found Durkheim's thoughts on the collective conscience particularly interesting, especially when he says, "We do not reprove because it is a crime, but it is a crime because we reprove it." He does not make it clear to me the difference between the collective and individual conscience, because everyone is part of the whole of the collective conscience. I do not see where individual personality fits in because I would think personal differences would make up this personality. Also, not everyone has the same moral standards, many may people reprove an act, but some will not.

I too think that it would be interesting to see what Durkheim would have to say about modern society. This division of labor still exists but I a slightly different way than at Durkheim's time due technological advances. It is now possible for an individual to change their position and function within society. Also, because location and status affect how an individual views the world, I would like to hear what he would have to say about the increasing level of globalization.