Take a minute and think about our cook county jail prisoners; men who have been convicted of vicious or passive crimes. They live in a reality where everything they do is a system and must follow within set rules of structure and organization. From the minute they are booked and led to their cell till the day they either walk out a free man or die a guilty old man, there life is now a system that they have absolutely no control of. This is what sociologist Emile Durkheim would have described as mechanical solidarity. Solidarity is integration, people feeling like they are a part of something. It is cohesive-brings people together. So a mechanical solidarity mainly exists in smaller communities or smaller forms of society. Within this community, there is minimal division of labor and an emphasis on the group rather than an individual. There are limited social roles, meaning people know their own and other people’s responsibilities. Finally, this type of solidarity exists because it is based on social intimate contact. People know who they can depend on for exactly what.
Prisoners are a perfect example of mechanical solidarity. They are a small organization that has minimal division of labor. Prisoners are limited in their social roles because in prison there is only so much they can do. Either they can be a prisoner enjoying the life of containment, or they are a prisoner who works in the prison-whether cook, librarian, or etc. Even within the prison, social intimate contact exists. It shows when prisoners who “know a guy that can…” whatever is needed can be done through their contacts. Finally, prisoners are no longer individuals. They are numbers and a group labeled: Prisoners. Individuality doesn’t exist in a group of convicts.
So now that we know what Emile Durkheim meant when he coined the term mechanical solidarity, do we see this in our reality? Prisoners aren’t exactly a big part of our lives so is there something else that can describe mechanical solidarity as it pertains to us? I think so. I believe mechanical solidarity is a system that we know exist but don’t even realize it.
What is your all time favorite sports team? Bears? Packers? Bulls? Well guess what…this is an example of mechanical solidarity. Let’s take Chicago basketball team the Bulls. Their team is a small community, a sort of form of society of people who can really play basketball. Within their team, there is a minimal division of labor. Every person has a job whether its point guard, forward, center, or etc. When it comes to playing, the players know they need to count on their teammate to make the shots needed. Like in the Bulls, the team knows they can rely on number 32 Richard Hamilton to create open spaces for the other players. Or, the team knows they can definitely rely on number 1 Derrick Rose to slam dunk it in for the winning shots. All the team members have a specific job that the others know they can rely on them to do. They are a team which is automatically an intimate social interaction-they need to know each other to trust each other and win together. Finally, they is an emphasis of them as a group. They are The BULLS not just Derrick Rose or Luol Deng but they are known as being part of The BULLS. What are other examples of mechanical solidarity in our society?
Prisoners are a perfect example of mechanical solidarity. They are a small organization that has minimal division of labor. Prisoners are limited in their social roles because in prison there is only so much they can do. Either they can be a prisoner enjoying the life of containment, or they are a prisoner who works in the prison-whether cook, librarian, or etc. Even within the prison, social intimate contact exists. It shows when prisoners who “know a guy that can…” whatever is needed can be done through their contacts. Finally, prisoners are no longer individuals. They are numbers and a group labeled: Prisoners. Individuality doesn’t exist in a group of convicts.
So now that we know what Emile Durkheim meant when he coined the term mechanical solidarity, do we see this in our reality? Prisoners aren’t exactly a big part of our lives so is there something else that can describe mechanical solidarity as it pertains to us? I think so. I believe mechanical solidarity is a system that we know exist but don’t even realize it.
What is your all time favorite sports team? Bears? Packers? Bulls? Well guess what…this is an example of mechanical solidarity. Let’s take Chicago basketball team the Bulls. Their team is a small community, a sort of form of society of people who can really play basketball. Within their team, there is a minimal division of labor. Every person has a job whether its point guard, forward, center, or etc. When it comes to playing, the players know they need to count on their teammate to make the shots needed. Like in the Bulls, the team knows they can rely on number 32 Richard Hamilton to create open spaces for the other players. Or, the team knows they can definitely rely on number 1 Derrick Rose to slam dunk it in for the winning shots. All the team members have a specific job that the others know they can rely on them to do. They are a team which is automatically an intimate social interaction-they need to know each other to trust each other and win together. Finally, they is an emphasis of them as a group. They are The BULLS not just Derrick Rose or Luol Deng but they are known as being part of The BULLS. What are other examples of mechanical solidarity in our society?