Anomie and Fatalism
As explained by Acevedo in his “Turning Anomie on his Head” piece, fatalism and anomie as Durkheim implied, are two concepts that can be seen as a binary system. They describe levels of regulation that may exist within a society. Nonetheless, these are conditions that are not desired because they are seen as societal problems.
Hence, the concept of anomie is the state, in which there is a sense of uncertainty; not knowing one’s place in society, due to lack of regulation. On the other hand, fatalism is the state of knowing, but at the same time feeling coercion because of over-regulation. Although, these two concepts are opposite in their nature, they share a common characteristic that may not be seen immediately. However, they both convey that the presence of either conditions will create a level of confusion among the people in a society who experience it.
Given the concept of anomie, it can be applied to a war outbreak. In particular though, a civil war, since a lot of chaos is created throughout. A perfect example of this would be the Syrian civil war that has been ongoing since 2011. According to the CNN Library (2014), this civil war’s uprising was initialized by an arrest of children, who did anti-government graffiti. However, the people of this country were already at a point of uneasiness because its president has been in power since the year 2000. Civilians began to protest, and the Syrian government got back at them, by sending security forces to fight back with weapons and such. Thus, numerous amounts of people have been killed since then.
This particular example shows how a society can be at a state of anomie. Primarily, because of the continuous back and forth fight between the government and the people. Therefore, there are no rules or regulations that stand at this point in the country because the government and its president as major actors of employing law and control, have failed to do so. So, we can we can imply that the people, feel a loss of direction due to the poor state in which the country is in.
Nonetheless, obviously there has been no resolution. Therefore, it may bring about confusion or uncertainty among the people, because being at war brings about uneasiness. People don’t know when the war will come to an end, or what to expect. They may probably be contemplating whether it would’ve been better to have left the things the way that they were, or if the continuous fight will eventually bring about something better. We can assume that aside from fear, the confusion and lack of direction, is what is causing the people from Syria to run away, seeking for refuge in other neighboring countries.
Moreover, the concept of fatalism can be applied to the era in Germany, when Nazi’s rose into power and they began brainwashing all the people that the Jews were the problem in their society. The Jews then, were stripped off their belongings, businesses, and just about everything else. They had to sow on a yellow star on their clothing, to be able to identify them among the people. From this came their elimination. They were all taken to concentration camps, where they were dehumanized. They had to follow the gestapo’s orders, or else they would get killed. Some people went to the camps and worked, others were just killed.
Inherently, this time in German society, is a time where the concept of fatalism can be clearly applied to because the Jewish population was being over-regulated. Little by little, forcing them to abide by the rules that were being employed specially for them. There were so many rules that they had to follow and obey that it didn’t give them the space to make their own decisions. They were imprisoned in their own country, in other terms enslaved by their own people.
We can suggest that this oppression caused them not to think clearly, and generate a sense of confusion. The fact that they were dehumanized and stripped off their lifestyle probably brought them to think why they were seen as the problem in their own country, or what they had done to deserve such horrible treatments.
Overall, the concepts of anomie and fatalism from Durkheim, where explained by Acevedo (2005) as a binary system. These are two levels of regulation in society, which are seen as societal problems. However, although they are contrasting concepts, they both bring about a sense of confusion among the people, who undergo these levels of regulation.
Cited Sources
· CNN Library. 2014. Syria Civil War Fast Facts. CNN. Retrieved February 19, 2014 < http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/27/world/meast>.
As explained by Acevedo in his “Turning Anomie on his Head” piece, fatalism and anomie as Durkheim implied, are two concepts that can be seen as a binary system. They describe levels of regulation that may exist within a society. Nonetheless, these are conditions that are not desired because they are seen as societal problems.
Hence, the concept of anomie is the state, in which there is a sense of uncertainty; not knowing one’s place in society, due to lack of regulation. On the other hand, fatalism is the state of knowing, but at the same time feeling coercion because of over-regulation. Although, these two concepts are opposite in their nature, they share a common characteristic that may not be seen immediately. However, they both convey that the presence of either conditions will create a level of confusion among the people in a society who experience it.
Given the concept of anomie, it can be applied to a war outbreak. In particular though, a civil war, since a lot of chaos is created throughout. A perfect example of this would be the Syrian civil war that has been ongoing since 2011. According to the CNN Library (2014), this civil war’s uprising was initialized by an arrest of children, who did anti-government graffiti. However, the people of this country were already at a point of uneasiness because its president has been in power since the year 2000. Civilians began to protest, and the Syrian government got back at them, by sending security forces to fight back with weapons and such. Thus, numerous amounts of people have been killed since then.
This particular example shows how a society can be at a state of anomie. Primarily, because of the continuous back and forth fight between the government and the people. Therefore, there are no rules or regulations that stand at this point in the country because the government and its president as major actors of employing law and control, have failed to do so. So, we can we can imply that the people, feel a loss of direction due to the poor state in which the country is in.
Nonetheless, obviously there has been no resolution. Therefore, it may bring about confusion or uncertainty among the people, because being at war brings about uneasiness. People don’t know when the war will come to an end, or what to expect. They may probably be contemplating whether it would’ve been better to have left the things the way that they were, or if the continuous fight will eventually bring about something better. We can assume that aside from fear, the confusion and lack of direction, is what is causing the people from Syria to run away, seeking for refuge in other neighboring countries.
Moreover, the concept of fatalism can be applied to the era in Germany, when Nazi’s rose into power and they began brainwashing all the people that the Jews were the problem in their society. The Jews then, were stripped off their belongings, businesses, and just about everything else. They had to sow on a yellow star on their clothing, to be able to identify them among the people. From this came their elimination. They were all taken to concentration camps, where they were dehumanized. They had to follow the gestapo’s orders, or else they would get killed. Some people went to the camps and worked, others were just killed.
Inherently, this time in German society, is a time where the concept of fatalism can be clearly applied to because the Jewish population was being over-regulated. Little by little, forcing them to abide by the rules that were being employed specially for them. There were so many rules that they had to follow and obey that it didn’t give them the space to make their own decisions. They were imprisoned in their own country, in other terms enslaved by their own people.
We can suggest that this oppression caused them not to think clearly, and generate a sense of confusion. The fact that they were dehumanized and stripped off their lifestyle probably brought them to think why they were seen as the problem in their own country, or what they had done to deserve such horrible treatments.
Overall, the concepts of anomie and fatalism from Durkheim, where explained by Acevedo (2005) as a binary system. These are two levels of regulation in society, which are seen as societal problems. However, although they are contrasting concepts, they both bring about a sense of confusion among the people, who undergo these levels of regulation.
Cited Sources
· CNN Library. 2014. Syria Civil War Fast Facts. CNN. Retrieved February 19, 2014 < http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/27/world/meast>.