Anomie - A theory about deviance? Examples of modern anomie

There are different situations when the balance in the normative system of culture is disturbed. One of these forms is called anomie (translated from French as “lawlessness”). There are several definitions of this concept. The essence of this phenomenon is most fully reflected in the following definition.

Definition 1

Anomie is understood as a state of society characterized by the destruction of the system of cultural values, which is caused by the social crisis, the collapse of its social institutions, the contradiction between the declared goals and the impossibility of their implementation for the majority.

At such a time in society, most of its members deliberately do not comply with accepted norms, although they know them perfectly well.

Many scientists have studied anomie, its causes and consequences; the most interesting theories were expressed by E. Durkheim and R. Merton.

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Social anomie theory

Anomie (sociology) is the loss of a common culture, the absence of a common system of norms. Because of this, people’s lives, their thoughts, actions, and actions cease to correspond to the norms of society.

Durkheim's Anomie Theory (briefly)

The author described his theory in the book “Suicide”. According to E. Durkheim, this is a contradiction between mechanical and organic solidarity. According to Durkheim's theory of anomie, the trigger for the development of anomie as such was the transition from an industrial society to a society of individualists. E. Durkheim believed that self-discipline and human solidarity based on morality could not be formed. At the moral and ethical level, the transition of society was not completed.

Durkheim examined in detail one of the forms of deviation associated with anomie - suicide. The author identified three types of suicide:

1. Egoistic. This is an individual protest of a person who could not enter society.
2. Altruistic (endemic). A person sacrifices himself for the sake of society, for the sake of other people. For example, when old people kill themselves if they become a burden to others. In Hinduism, wives burn themselves at their husband's funeral. Such suicide is based on group pressure and social approval.
3. Anomic. Having been in social uncertainty and instability for some time, a person decides to die. Old norms have been destroyed, new ones have not yet been created. A person does not understand, does not know what to do, where to go, what to be.

During periods of economic, political, social, and spiritual crises, the number of suicides increases. As Durkheim notes, at the same time the number of divorces increases, and accordingly, anomie affects not only individuals, but also the institution of the family. Divorce can be a cause of suicide. Divorce, in turn, is caused by job loss, a riotous lifestyle, addictions, that is, deviations that arise due to the destruction of the morality of society.

Anomie Merton

R. Merton is a follower of E. Durkheim. The sociologist continued to study the phenomenon and concept of anomie. As a result, R. Merton included the following supporting points in his definition of the destruction of values:

• the contradiction of the goals, desires, needs of the majority of representatives of society and the means of achievement that are offered to them (society does not accept them), that is, the goals not only do not justify the means, but also contradict them;
• the impact of social norms tends to zero (people are out of control, norms do not regulate their behavior).

Thus, according to Merton’s theory of anomie, the phenomenon is caused by the contradiction between the goals (norms) of society and the means that are available to the individual. For example, a person accepts the idea of ​​wealth, success, well-being, but he cannot get a good education and find a prestigious job, because he was originally born into a poor family, and he does not have the means for this. Then he chooses another way to achieve the same goal - crime (robbery, fraud, deception, extortion, begging, etc.). Inequality is one of the causes of anomie according to Merton.

However, this does not always lead to deviations. Merton will highlight 5 reactions to the “ends-means” contradiction within the framework of the concept of anomie, 4 of them lead to deviations:

• conformism - adaptation to the goals and means, proposed norms (does not cause deviations);
• innovation - the search for new means of achieving the proposed goals (prostitution, fraud, blackmail, theft, drug trafficking, etc.);
• ritualism – denial and belittlement of goals, use of proposed methods (means become an end in themselves);
• retreatism - denial of goals and means, lack of one’s own proposals (drug addicts, alcoholics, tramps);
• rebellion - denial of goals and means, proposal of their alternatives (political and revolutionary movements, subcultures, sects, social movements).

Anomie Parsons

American psychologist T. Parsons believed that anomie is caused not by a contradiction between goals and means, but by freedom of choice. The norms of individual institutions are so contradictory that people begin to choose one group and limit themselves to it. Groups change very often. As a result, a person finds himself in an unstable state, he does not have a stable perception of reality as a whole, there are no stable connections with other institutions, groups, the state and society. This leads to deviations.

Anomie Srawl

Psychologist L. Sroul was the first to study anomie from a psychological point of view; before that, it was considered only as social anomie. Srawl explored the phenomenon at the personal level. According to the theory of anomie in psychology, the destruction of moral norms and values ​​leads to the destruction of cohesion with society, the emergence of a craving for self-destruction through addictions (physical, moral).

What is anomie

The name is derived from the French word anomie, which means lawlessness, lack of norms. The concept of anomie in sociology was introduced by the French sociologist E. Durkheim, and later his ideas were developed by the American sociologist R. Merton. According to the definition of anomie from Wikipedia, social anomie is a state of society in which there is a destruction of social norms and institutions, instability and uncertainty of human actions, fragmentation of social systems, contradiction of social goals and the means available to people to achieve them.

The concept of anomie at the individual level (psychology) is somewhat different. This is a psychological state of an individual in which there is demoralization of values, loss of connection with society, a feeling of alienation, uselessness, and meaninglessness of life. It seems to a person that there is no place for him in the world. The world does not understand him, and he does not understand the world. Anomie causes depression, suicide and deviant behavior. We'll talk more about this at the end of this article.

Norms and anomie

Social norms are a lever that regulates people's behavior. This category includes official laws, unspoken rules and regulations, and expected behavior approved by society. Norms are a kind of templates that tell a person what to say, think, feel, and do in certain situations and conditions. Fulfillment of social norms is an obligation, a duty of one individual to all others.

What is anomie in society? Anomie is the denial and/or disregard of social norms of behavior. This leads to the destruction of society. The longer anomie persists, the more difficult it will be to restore the structure of society. Old traditions and connections are broken, new ones are not created. People become asocial and suffer from desocialization. They are concerned about their personal lives and are guided by their own interests.

Examples

In a state of anomie, a person suffers from a contradiction between expectations and reality, from the inability to achieve a goal by generally accepted means. The individual finds himself in a state of social crisis.

Examples of anomie:

• the desire for wealth, a carefree life and attempts to achieve this by fraud in real life and on the Internet;
• the desire for fame and attempts to gain it through provocative videos on the Internet.

We see and hear private examples of anomie every day: attacks, robberies, beatings captured on video and broadcast on the Internet, public copulation, indifference of passersby and much more. At the individual level, anomie is felt as uncertainty about the future, loss of meaning in life, focus on survival, serving the allotted days; at the social level – social unrest.

History of the concept[edit]

Anomie according to Durkheim

Social adaptation
The concept of anomie (French anomie) was introduced into scientific circulation by Emile Durkheim in his book “Suicide” (1897). He defined it as a contradiction between natural individual or group norms that quickly adapt to the situation ( organic solidarity

) and more inertial norms of society as a whole, generated by industrialization ( mechanical solidarity

).

Durkheim believed that anomie is a state that develops in an emerging capitalist society, when the no longer adequate norms of the previous traditional stratum have ceased to apply, and new, bourgeois ones have not yet emerged.

Anomie according to Merton

A necessary prerequisite for anomie, according to Merton, who developed the theory, is the inability to satisfy the claims and interests of a significant part of society in a way acceptable to it (for example, when excessive status consumption is encouraged): norms regarding socially acceptable goals and the means of achieving them come into conflict; and the extent to which social norms actually influence individual behavior becomes negligible.

People adapt to the lack of socially acceptable means of achieving socially acceptable goals through the following life strategies:

Means Ends	Accepted	Rejected
Accepted	conformism	innovation, reformism
Rejected	ritualism	retreatism, mutiny

Anomie according to Srawl

Leo Srawl introduced the concept of anomia in psychology (English anomia), at the level of the individual, denoting a state of consciousness in which the sense of social cohesion is weakened or destroyed. The resulting emptiness and hopeless melancholy push towards self-destruction: alcoholism, drug addiction, criminal behavior or outright suicide.

Anomia: what is it in psychology, psychiatry, sociology – Suppressed

26.11.2019

Anomie is a term derived from the French word anomie, which literally translates as “lack of law and/or organization.”

As a result, anomie in sociology and psychology is understood as a moral and psychological state of consciousness (both of the individual and of society), in which the destruction of the value system occurs.

This collapse is caused by a social crisis, with it the impossibility of achieving set goals and the contradiction between expectation and reality are clearly visible.

Terminology

The concept of anomie was introduced in 1897 by Emile Durkheim, who first used it in his work entitled Suicide.

The term is also associated with the ancient Greek ἀνομία, which, however, also meant lawlessness, and the particle ἀ meant “absence, negation, etc.,” and νομία, respectively, “law.”

Anomie is a state of society in which most of its members ignore or even deny the norms accepted in it.

The theory of anomie was developed not only by Durkheim, but also by Merton and Srawl. Each scientist has a slightly different concept of “anomie”.

According to Durkheim

In his book, by “anomie,” Emile Durkheim meant, first of all, a contradiction. The one that arises between organic and mechanical solidarity.

What does it mean?

Organic solidarity is norms (of an individual or a group) created under the influence of the natural. During the development of society as a structure and/or the formation of personality as such.

Mechanical solidarity, in turn, represents inertial norms, and they are generated by an industrialized society.

Durkheim himself believed that anomie is a result of the formation of capitalist society. After all, it was precisely during that period that traditional norms were losing their power, and bourgeois norms did not yet have sufficient influence on society.

According to Merton

• Robert King Merton, developing the theory of the concept introduced by Durkheim, reached the following conclusions.
• Firstly, that anomie is the inability to satisfy what the majority of society needs in ways that society itself accepts.
• Secondly, that the ends not only do not justify the means, but also contradict them.
• Thirdly, that the influence of norms established in society becomes less and less until it begins to tend to zero.

And fourthly, that adaptation to anomie occurs with the help of such life strategies as the acceptance of conformity as a goal and a means, but the rejection of innovation and reformism as a tool for achieving plans, and they are accepted as the end results themselves.

And vice versa: ritualism can be a means, but cannot be a goal. Retreatism and rebellion are not accepted either as a method (way) to bring ideas to life, or as the ideas themselves.

According to Sroul

Previously, only social anomie had been considered, and only Leo Sroul first proposed positioning the term from a psychological point of view.

It was with his light hand that the definition began to include not only the state of society, but also an individual individual, among whose characteristics is the weakening or absolute destruction of social cohesion, the individual’s craving for self-destruction by various physical and moral means.

Factors in the development of social anomie

The essence of social anomie is the disruption of social order. Below are the factors “thanks to” which social anomie can develop as a phenomenon:

• Natural, political, economic or other types of shocks, which led to the fact that the majority of the population stopped focusing on established norms, rejected the usual statuses and roles in favor of physical survival.
• Corrosion of values, that is, blurring of the boundaries between good and evil, the foundations of moral norms. As a result, there is criticism towards things that were just recently important, rhetorical questions from society: “Are they as important as they thought?” Disintegration of social integrity.

Features and consequences of anomie

Anomie is a detrimental effect on society and the individuals in it. It alienates one thing from another, reduces the entire structure to “no.”

Desociality, which is one of the features of anomie, leads to the loss of skills to regulate members of society with the help of norms and rules, traditions and attitudes.

Connections and relationships are mandatory conditions for the existence of society; they cease to reproduce and self-reproduce, which leads to its unambiguous disintegration. Depending on the degree of penetration of anomie into social life, it becomes more difficult to restore its structure.

The manifestation of this process in the modern Russian Federation is closely related to the psychological mood of the population and its social condition: instability and uncertainty about the future makes the situation precarious, the alternating dominance of attitudes very clearly characterizes the anomie of today. The unstable inconsistency is emphasized by the inability of the authorities to put in order the connections of social principles.

Source:

Social anomie

Social responsibility

The science of sociology also studies anomie.

One of the main representatives of the theory of social anomie was the sociologist and philosopher, Frenchman Emile Durkheim (1858–1917). He discussed the phenomenon in his works “Suicide” (1897) and “On the Division of Social Labor” (1893).

According to Durkheim, social anomie occurs when a society lacks social and moral norms that serve as a code of conduct for people.

Such a “fault” in society and a breakdown in social rules became more pronounced with the development of society. Its modernization has caused great changes in people's lifestyle and thinking.

The loss of faith (for example, the loss of power of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages) and cultural traditions (as a result of globalization and the emergence of megacities) are just one of the few examples of such social transformations.

Durkheim argued that social anomie will only be active during periods of social change, when some rules are being abolished and others have not yet been adopted. Feelings of dissatisfaction, uncertainty and disappointment arise among people who strive to find solidarity among other members of society and do not find it. Solidarity refers to empathy and a common way of thinking.

According to Durkheim, the weakening of connections between people in society and a decrease in life satisfaction can lead to such sad consequences as suicide.

Anomic suicide, as the French sociologist explained, occurs when a person feels insecure about his social position. When he believes that the rules that establish such concepts as “good” and “bad” and distinguish truth from lies are not able to protect him.

Anomie Srawl

Psychologist L. Small was the first to study anomie from a psychological point of view, since before that he considered it only as social anomie. Stroul studied this phenomenon at the individual level. According to the theory of anomie in psychology, the destruction of moral norms and values ​​leads to a breakdown in cohesion with society and the emergence of a desire for self-destruction through addictions (physical and moral).

There are many examples of deviant behavior in our lives.

Social anomie

Forms of behavior in human psychology and their social predisposition

In the course of a rather abrupt change in the goals and morality of a certain society, certain social categories cease to feel their own involvement in this society.

The concept of anomie is a process of destruction of the fundamental foundations of culture, in particular ethical norms. As a result, such categories of citizens are alienated. In addition, they reject new social ideals, norms and morals, including socially proclaimed patterns of behavior. Instead of using generally accepted means of achieving individual or social goals, they put forward their own, often illegal ones.

The state of anomie, affecting all layers of the population during social upheavals, has a particularly strong impact on young people.

In sociology, anomie is any type of “deviation” in the value and normative system of society. Durkheim first introduced the term anomie. He considered anomie to be the absence of law, norms of behavior or their insufficiency. Durkheim emphasized that the problem of anomie arises more often in conditions of dynamic reforms and during periods of economic crises. The described concept provokes a certain psychological state of the individual, characterized by a feeling of loss of life guidelines, which arises when the subject faces the need to implement contradictory norms. In other words, such a state arises when the old hierarchy is destroyed and the new one has not yet formed. Until social forces, which are left to themselves in times of crisis, come into balance, their comparative value cannot be taken into account, therefore, any regulation is found to be untenable for some time.

Later, this phenomenon is understood as a state of society caused by the redundancy of contradictory norms (Merton anomie). In such conditions, the individual is lost, not understanding exactly what norms need to be followed. The integrity of the normative system and the order of regulation of social relationships are collapsing. People in the described conditions are socially disoriented, they experience anxiety, a feeling of isolation from society, which naturally provokes deviant behavioral responses, crime, marginality and other asocial phenomena.

Durkheim saw the causes of anomie in the contrast between the “established” and modern industrial society.

The problem of anomie is caused by the transitional nature of the historical period, a temporary decline in the moral regulation of new economic-capitalist relations.

Anomie is a product of incomplete transformation from mechanical unity to organic unity, since the objective foundation of the latter (the social distribution of labor) progresses more intensively than it finds a moral basis in the collective consciousness.

Factors in the emergence of anomie: a collision of two categories of socially generated phenomena (the first is interests and needs, the second is a resource for their satisfaction). According to Durkheim, a prerequisite for personal integrity is a cohesive and stable society. Under generally accepted orders, the abilities of individuals and their needs were provided quite simply, since they were kept at a low level by the corresponding collective consciousness, preventing the development of individualism, personal liberation, setting strict limits on what a subject could achieve legally in a given social position. The hierarchical feudal society (traditional) was constant because it set different goals for different layers and allowed each of its members to feel their own existence meaningful within a limited closed layer.

The development of the social process provokes the growth of “individualization” and at the same time undermines the strength of group supervision and the stable moral boundaries inherent in the old times. The degree of personal freedom from traditions, group mores, prejudices, the presence of individual choice of knowledge and means of action expands sharply in new conditions. The relatively free structure of industrial society ceases to determine the life activity of individuals and constantly recreates anomie, which implies the absence of stable life ideals, norms and patterns of behavior, which puts most people in a position of uncertainty, depriving them of collective unity, a sense of connection with a certain category and with the entire society in general. All of the above leads to an increase in deviant and self-destructive behavioral reactions in society.

Etymology

The term " anomie"

" - "a reinterpretation of the French spelling of
anomie
" - comes from the Greek:
anomía
(ἀνομία, "lawlessness"), namely the prefix of the privative alpha (
a-
, "without"), and
nomos
(νόμος, "law").
. The Greeks distinguished between nomos
and
arche
(ἀρχή, "beginning rule, axiom, principle").
For example, the monarch is the sole ruler, but he may still be subject to the laws in force, that is, nomos
, rather than exempt from
them
.
In the original urban state democracy, majority rule is an aspect of Arche
because it was a rules-based, customary system that may or may not make laws, i.e.
nomos
.
Thus, the original meaning of anomie
defined something or someone against or outside the law, or a condition in which existing laws were not enforced, resulting in a state of illegality or lawlessness.

Modern English understanding of the word anomie

allows greater flexibility in the word "norm", and some have used the idea of ​​no norms to reflect a situation similar to the idea of ​​anarchy.
However, as used by Émile Durkheim and later theorists, anomie
is a reaction against or retreat from normative social controls in a society, and it is a completely separate concept from anarchy, which consists of the absence of a role for rulers and introduced.

Features and consequences of anomie

Anomie is a detrimental effect on society and the individuals within it. It alienates one thing from another, reduces the entire structure to “nothing.” Dissociality, which is one of the characteristics of anomie, leads to a loss of the ability to regulate members of society with the help of norms and rules, traditions and attitudes. Connections and relationships, the conditions for the existence of society, cease to reproduce and self-reproduce, which leads to its unconditional collapse. Depending on the degree of penetration of anomie into social life, it becomes increasingly difficult to restore its structure.

The manifestations of this process in modern Russia are closely related to the psychological mood of the population and its social state: instability and uncertainty of the future make the situation precarious, and the alternating dominance of attitudes very clearly characterizes today's anomie. The unstable divergence is exacerbated by the inability of authorities to understand the social ties of origin.

Anomie is a natural process for society at any stage of its development

Merton's Anomie Theory

Robert Merton wrote one of the most famous articles in all of sociology in the 1940s, in which he analyzed the concept of "deviance" and the reasons for its occurrence in various societies...

In his opinion, deviation is an individual’s violation of social norms; this disruption can be either good or bad.

Merton uses his concept of anomie to explain why Western societies have more deviant behavior than others and to examine differences in the incidence of deviance depending on race, ethnicity, or social class.

Merton points to the United States of his time as an example of a culture in which there was more deviance due to a situation of anomie

In this society, much attention is paid to achieving material success, but there are no clear moral rules on how to achieve it

For example, Merton argues that just as great investors or entrepreneurs are admired, so too are criminals who break the law and make a fortune through theft or robbery are admired in American culture. In the United States of his time, he said, success was much more important than virtue.

On the other hand, it was not equally easy for all people in this society to achieve material success. For example, a person born into a humble family will not have access to the resources needed to become a great entrepreneur. Therefore, he will suffer the consequences of the discrepancy between the goals imposed by society and his daily reality.

To confront this reality, people can use a variety of strategies, from conformity to rebellion.

Different scientists have looked at anomie from different angles

Nonconformist deviation

Both goals and social norms are rejected, but an alternative is offered. Sometimes it's about reforming the entire system.

According to Merton, three types of deviance arise when social goals cannot be achieved by means that society considers legitimate. This can happen in a situation of anomie, so such a situation will be the immediate cause of social deviation.

Overcoming anomie

If we go back in time, we can say that overcoming anomie is impossible. At all times, people have tried to create a society that would harmoniously promote the happiness and health of people. However, as long as there is no such system, anomie cannot be overcome.

When overcoming anomie, people often turn to the past: “Life used to be good.” However, in some situations this does not work if people understand that the mechanisms proposed to them will not help eliminate the internal conflict between what is desired and what is achievable.

Until society provides all people with socially acceptable ways to achieve the goals that it itself promotes, people will commit immoral acts. They will be motivated by a desire to change the environment in which the desire or goal will eventually be realized but will be characterized by society as immoral.

As long as there is a conflict between goals (values) and the means to achieve them (means), anomie will exist. Therefore, the only way to overcome it is to correlate goals with the resources available to achieve them. However, this does not take into account the desire “I want more,” which is inherent in a person striving for progress. This means that the goals will always be ahead of the means, i.e. they will not live up to them and will cause anomie.

E. Durkheim's theory of anomie

Emile Durkheim introduced the concept of “anomie” into sociology. He used this concept in his two main works - “On the Division of Social Labor” (1863) and “Suicide. Sociological study" (1897). Durkheim, in his work “The Division of Social Labor,” considers anomie as “a manifestation of the absence of organic solidarity in society.” That is, anomie is a situation, the result of an incomplete transition from the mechanical solidarity of a traditional society to the organic solidarity of an industrial one. This is explained by the fact that moral consciousness develops faster than the social division of labor, which forms the basis of this society.

Durkheim argued that quite often deviations occur due to the lack of clear social norms.

Analyzing statistical data, Durkheim draws attention to some features: the level of suicides in cities is much higher than in villages; suicides are more often committed by people who profess Catholicism than by those who follow the Catholic faith; family men commit much fewer suicides in contrast to single people, bachelors, and this percentage is especially high among divorced people; men commit suicide more often than women, etc. Based on research, Durkheim creates his own typology of suicide:

Based on research, Durkheim creates his own typology of suicide:

Selfish suicide. A type of suicide when a person goes out on an individual protest as a result of the fact that he cannot cope with the group.

Altruistic suicide (Durkheim calls it "endemic"). The type of suicide is exactly the opposite of egoistic suicide. Altruistic suicide occurs “in the case when the public completely and completely absorbs individuality.” Such suicides include, for example, the customs of some nations, when old people commit suicide if life has become painful; in Hinduism - self-immolation of widows at her husband's funeral. According to Durkheim, altruistic suicide, i.e. suicide in the name of group interests is the result of group pressure and social approval.

Anomic suicide. This type is associated with the nature of regulation of social connections by society.

Durkheim also notes that during periods of economic crises the number of suicides increases. But disturbances in other areas of a person’s life can also cause a surge in suicides, for example, various changes in the political sphere (revolutions, regime changes), social and spiritual. Durkheim noted that anomie also affects the system of family and marriage relations. He notes that there is a correlation between divorce statistics and suicide statistics. From this we can draw some conclusions that the process of divorce, which is also in some way an anomic process, may be one of the causes of suicide.

Examples of anomie

Traditionally, examples of anomie can be divided into large-scale (national) and collective, sometimes individual. Examples of large-scale anomie include wars, revolutions, and the disunity of small states. Collective anomie manifests itself in attempts to influence public opinion: riots, uprisings, new trends for social causes (for example, the “childless” movement). Individual anomies can be defined as anomies manifested in criminal acts, alcoholism, drug addiction, etc.

Whether it concerns an individual or society as a whole, everyone involved feels the need for change. In a group, an individual accepts a new idea, which creates the illusion that only through illegal actions can he achieve his goals. However, there are frequent cases of group disintegration after its suppression, which once again confirms the impossibility of achieving goals through illegal means.

Attention should be paid to the influence of the media and parental examples that provoke destructive human behavior. More and more people talk about what is bad rather than about what is good. People began to share their troubles, which further convinced others that they could not trust anyone and be treacherous.

Irreligion also refers to anomie. This phenomenon clearly manifested itself during the reign of faith and religion. Let's remember how women suspected of witchcraft were burned at the stake. Anyone who did not conform to certain social norms had to die, which created the illusion of continued integrity. However, this only led to the fact that the wicked learned to hide or pretend to be believers.

When talking about social norms, it is important to understand that many people are forced to follow them. The more cunning of them have learned to avoid punishment, which is a consequence of committing a criminal act. Anomie is an attempt to adapt to living conditions.

Explanation of the concept within the framework of psychiatry and neuropsychology

The term anomie in medical disciplines is viewed from a slightly different point of view than in psychology. Anomia as a definition has become especially widespread in the format of neuropsychology, neurophysiology and psychiatry, including forensic psychiatry.

What does the concept of anomie mean in such a context? Anomia is a pathological condition in which the patient, for various reasons, is unable to remember and give specific names, names of individual objects and phenomena. At the same time, the person’s speech remains intact and quite adequate. He can form words correctly into sentences and can think clearly to a certain extent. Both psychiatry and neuropsychology consider anomia in the context of nominal aphasia, and can also appear in the format of individual amnestic syndromes. In other words, in medical circles the phenomenon of anomie is understood as a state of pathological forgetfulness. But how does the perception of the term differ depending on the specific discipline?

Manifestations of anomie

Social anomie has three manifestations:

1. Uncertainty, instability, contradictory norms and values. The government says to focus on one thing, but creates conditions for people to focus on something else.
2. Ineffectiveness of rules and regulations. Laws do not apply to a person; they do not influence his behavior.
3. The absence or partial absence of norms at a time when the old value system is destroyed and a new one has not yet been built. A striking example in Russia is the period of the collapse of the USSR.

Anomie manifests itself at all levels and affects all institutions. Recently, it has been especially noticeable in politics, religion, the institution of family, and economics. People do not understand what society expects from them; it is difficult for them to coordinate their actions according to unclear norms.

Anomia and deviant behavior

The destruction of values ​​and alienation from society leads to deviations:

• alcoholism,
• addiction,
• crime,
• divorces,
• rape,
• early pregnancy,
• single-parent families,
• suicide,
• xenophobia,
• fascism,
• extremism,
• sexual promiscuity,
• vagrancy,
• other.

A crisis can affect anyone, but teenagers are a particular risk group. This is the period of formation of values, at this time there is a breakdown and construction of a new system of moral norms, that is, at the internal individual level, adolescents are already unstable. If this is accompanied by instability and destruction of the morality of the entire society, the risk of developing deviations doubles.

We have already said that one of the characteristics of devaluation is the denial by certain categories of citizens of the means of achieving goals that society offers. Instead, they offer their means, which are usually criminal and illegal. A person does not believe that he owes anything to society. He focuses only on his needs and desires.

Durkheim believed that society cannot exist without crime. There have always been deviants. There is no need to try to completely eradicate crime; it is necessary to maintain it at the minimum acceptable level. Criminals ensure the progress of society. Social norms, punishment, unity and cohesion of society make it possible to maintain an acceptable level of deviation. If community is destroyed, crime increases. This is dangerous for society and leads to regression.

Story

In 1893, Durkheim introduced the concept of anomie

describe the discrepancy between collective guild labor and the changing needs of society, when the guild was homogeneous in its district.
He equated homogeneous (redundant) skills with mechanical solidarity
whose inertia prevented adaptation.
He contrasted this self-regulating behavior with a division of labor based on constituency differences, equated with organic solidarity
, the lack of inertia of which made him sensitive to necessary changes.

Durkheim observed that the conflict between the developed organic division of labor and the homogeneous mechanical type is such that one cannot exist in the presence of the other.:182–3 When solidarity is organic, anomie is impossible, since sensitivity to mutual needs promotes the evolution of the division of labor::368–9

Durkheim contrasted the state of anomie as a result of the disruption of organic solidarity after the transition to mechanical solidarity:: 368–9

Durkheim's use of anomie

was in relation to the phenomenon of industrialization—Mass regulation, which could not adapt due to its own inertia. In particular, its resistance to change causes destructive cycles of collective behavior (such as economics) due to the need for long-term accumulation of sufficient force or momentum to overcome inertia.

Later, in 1897, in his studies of suicide, Durkheim linked anomie

to the influence of a lack of norms or too strict norms.
However, such non-standardization or normal rigidity was a symptom
of anomie caused by the lack of differential adaptation that would allow norms to develop naturally due to self-regulation, either to develop norms where there were none, or to change norms that had become rigid and outdated.

In 1938, Robert K. Merton related Anomie

involving , arguing that the gap between culture and structure has dysfunctional consequences leading to deviations in society. He described 5 types of deviations in terms of acceptance or rejection of social goals and institutionalized means of achieving them.

In culture

In Albert Camus' existentialist novel The Stranger

Meursault, the bored and alienated protagonist, tries to build an individual value system in response to the disappearance of the old.
He exists mainly in a state of anomie, as is evident from the apathy evident in the opening lines: “ Aujourd'hui, maman est morte.
Ou peut-être hier, je ne sais pas " (“Mom died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know”).

Fyodor Dostoevsky expresses a similar concern with anomie in his novel "The Brothers Karamazov"

. The Grand Inquisitor notes that in the absence of God and immortal life, everything would be legal. In other words, any action becomes conceivable that there is no moral compass, which leads to apathy and detachment.

Social anomie

When foundations and moral values ​​begin to change in society, then some people do not have time to readjust, which is why they begin to feel that they do not belong. Young people are more susceptible to change and flexible. On the one hand, they themselves are the initiators of the formation of something new that is more in line with their interests. On the other hand, they lead society in the desire to change the established foundations.

When morals and norms change, many people become confused. Some agree with what is happening, others refuse, which is why they become fighters for the return of the previous rules. Anomie is characterized by the emergence of new principles, but their rejection by a society that still lives by old principles.

Any deviation from the norm is called anomie in sociology. When a society enters a crisis state, it is during this period that this phenomenon arises. The old morality has been destroyed, but the new one has not yet been formed. Here a person begins to chaotically search for ways to achieve a balance that has been significantly disturbed. Everyone manages to do this in their own way. This is why the integrity of society is violated, since several groups are formed simultaneously and oppose each other.

When a person needs to realize two opposing values ​​at once, anomie arises. In other words, anomie is a “transitional period” when the old no longer works, but the new has not yet shown its positive result.

Today, anomie is progressive, as there is a gradual transition from the collective to the individual. Man has not yet learned to combine in himself and his actions public morality and the desire to achieve personal goals. If previously there was a clear division between layers of people, where clear goals and legal ways to achieve them were given, now a person must combine the legality of actions with his own goals that he set for himself.

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Causes of anomie

The reason is a sharp change in morals, values, ideals, and ethical standards in society. The source of change is the socio-political activity of the state. Some members of society do not have time to accept new values ​​and new means of achieving previous goals, and therefore certain social groups feel that society has rejected them. New values ​​are not perceived as social and useful for all people; they are perceived as dangerous, useful only to certain representatives.

In simple words, anomie in society is the destruction of social order. A number of negative factors lead to this:

• socioeconomic and political changes that have made physical survival a priority for most people;
• criticism of previous values, changing the boundaries between the concepts of good and evil.

The corruption of values ​​occurs in times of unrest, perestroika, revolutions, and social crises. At this time, people lose confidence in social institutions, the government and the norms and guidelines that they offer. A cohesive and stable society is the best prevention of anomie.

Social norm and social anomie

A person lives in a society where there are certain rules, norms and laws of behavior. A social norm is a set of principles and rules about how people should behave, what to think, how to reason and what to say in order to maintain a peaceful attitude towards themselves and show respect for others. A social norm is a regulator of relationships that will allow people to live in peace and harmony. Social anomie is the complete opposite of the norms established in society.

Social norms dictate not just the behavior of people, but the various ethical and cultural rules that they must adhere to in different sectors of society. Moreover, on the basis of social norms, a person forms certain expectations regarding others, just as other people have the right to demand certain actions from a particular person.

When people begin to deviate from social norms, resulting in destructive behavior, it develops social anomie. It manifests itself in:

• The loss of the image that people should adhere to. A person can show any of his qualities.
• The formation of actions that contradict the laws, but are completely subordinate to the desires of the individual.

People often talk about morality. They need to be respected, valued, and honored. In each individual situation and during communication with others, a person requires a certain positive attitude towards himself. Some people don’t like how they joke about them, but others understand that they are lying to them. You can call it this: every person wants to be treated with respect.

But how does the person who wants this behave? Often people receive exactly the attitude that they allow themselves to be treated with. Due to low self-esteem and uncertainty that you are worthy of respect, you allow some freedom to others. They joke evilly at you, but you just smile, feeling unpleasant sensations inside, they use abuse at you, but you remain silent. By your conniving behavior, you simply demonstrate to the other person that you are ready to tolerate his antics.

Sometimes you can give some freedom to others. But the very fact that a person does not punish them for disrespectful attitude towards him, tacitly shows that he can continue to be treated in this way.

You shouldn’t expect people to understand how rudely they treat you, because if you don’t do or say anything, continuing to remain silent and endure, you are making it clear that everything suits you. People will not change if they think you are happy with this attitude. Remember that you are treated the way you allow others to treat you.

At the same time, when you demand morality, behave morally yourself. If you only demand respect for yourself, but do not respect yourself, then people will not want to listen to your requests. How you communicate with people is how they will communicate with you. If you don’t like something in a relationship with another person, then express your dissatisfaction, protest, and at the same time be the person you want others to see.

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Total and focal anomia

Depending on the area of ​​social space covered by destructive processes, anomie can be focal or total. After the forces of chaos have left their mark in the past, residual, peripheral forms of anomie always remain in any social system. They are still present in numerous social “niches” of the social system.

Focal anomie, as opposed to complete anomie, has been an integral part of every social system throughout its history.

Focal outbreaks of disorder are necessary for the system to maintain its viability. This is due to the fact that total, complete homogeneity and absolute orderliness make the system fragile and reduce its resistance to external destructive influences. The presence of enclaves of anomie with their characteristic plurality of various deviations creates a wide space of social freedom for active action and energetic self-affirmation of social subjects. It is these hotbeds that turn out to be places where non-standard models of life, various fresh discoveries and social innovations are born.

Is this why the state, its institutions, and power always treat freedom and its various manifestations with distrust? The answer is that they feel a direct connection between freedom and anomie. They believe that freedom is one of the manifestations of chaos, that it can lead to the disintegration of social structures, that it always carries with it the possibility of a transition to permissiveness.

Focal anomie is a form of preserving “niches” of freedom even in the most “closed” systems, where blocks of social institutions are closely connected with each other. The stricter and more total the social control, the more intense the processes in these “niches.”

Civil society plays an important role in preserving such niches. One of its tasks is to maintain the existence of such dictionaries and protect them from destruction by the state machine. Of course, this applies to those centers where forms of anomie are cultivated that are not criminal and do not threaten the life, health or dignity of citizens.

Anomie in modern society

Modern Russian society is also in a state of instability, where values ​​are being destroyed. People do not feel confident in the future, they do not have time to adapt to rapidly changing guidelines and dominant values, and they experience financial difficulties. The same reorientation occurs from moral values ​​to physical survival. The destruction of values ​​leads to professional degradation of people, disappointment in themselves and life, in their work and loss of self-esteem.

Thoughts that concern modern citizens, especially young people:

• “Hope for a better life has collapsed, there will be no improvement in its quality and level”;
• “My mental health is practically zero, I’m becoming psychotic”;
• “My future and the future of the country is unclear, it’s not worth having children now”;
• “I’m afraid to live, I don’t feel stability or security”;
• “I feel vulnerable, I don’t know what to do or where to go”;
• “I don’t know who I should be, what I should do, I don’t know what I want”;
• “I know what I want, but I don’t know how to achieve it”; “I don’t know how to get it”;
• “Everything is so unclear that it is difficult for a simple person like me to understand what is happening in the country”;
• “Now everything has depreciated, only money, connections, personal success are important”;
• “Everyone lives one day at a time, they don’t think about the future”;
• “I’m not sure of anything and I can’t trust anyone, I can’t trust anyone right now.”

Chaos, apathy, disorientation, market and consumer sentiment, social infantilism, lack of direction and uselessness - this in a nutshell can describe the state of modern society and each individual person. As a result, we already have three so-called lost generations. One of them is about 50 years old, but he still doesn’t understand how to live in this world. The youngest generation is characterized by revolutionary, extremist tendencies. Some of them clearly understand what they want to achieve in life, but they do not care about the interests of the country or the entire society. The middle generation is focused on consumption and market relations. But most of them are consumed by alcohol and drugs, that is, where they are not needed by society.

How to deal with anomie? Search for the cause and the conflict that caused it in order to eliminate it. Choose one of the current systems at that time, or create something completely new, or borrow someone’s ready-made system, for example, by turning to the past.

Anomie Parsons

American psychologist T. Parsons argued that anomie is caused not by the contradiction of goals and means, but by freedom of choice. The norms of individual institutions are so contradictory that people begin to choose one group and limit themselves to it. Groups change very often. As a result, people are in an unstable state, they do not have a stable perception of reality as a whole, they do not have stable relationships with other institutions, groups, the state and society. This leads to deviations.

Durkheim's sociology

Durkheim considered sociology to be the highest level of knowledge and placed it on a par with the natural sciences. Durkheim described the structure of sociology, which includes the following parts:

• social morphology, which studies the structure of society;
• social physiology, which studies the social spheres of society;
• general sociology, which studies the laws of the functioning of society and consists of sectoral theories (sociology of labor, sociology of family, sociology of youth, etc.).

Durkheim stood at the origins of the definition of the subject of sociology, highlighting as a subject social facts (social institutions), which are objective phenomena accessible to observation: marriage, family, social groups, etc. Social facts contribute to the formation of “collective ideas” and include the unity of the conscious (subjective) and the material (“objective”).

E. Durkheim identified two types of factors that determine an individual’s behavior:

• morphological (consist of an incentive effect on the behavior of an individual as a socio-biological being: population density, methods of communication, etc.);
• psychological (expressed in the motivating effect on the behavior of the individual as a socio-psychological being: collective ideas that were passed on from generation to generation (legends, religious concepts, fashion, language)).

Collective ideas are developed by social consciousness (law, morality, art, religion). They can strengthen social bonds (“normal”) or lead to social anomie (“pathological”).

Durkheim's sociological method involved viewing social facts as “things” and studying them empirically, as is done in the natural sciences. The basic rules of the sociological method in the study of social phenomena are:

• use of indirect observation;
• making comparisons by analogy;
• discovery of general patterns through the study of the individual;
• identifying cause-and-effect relationships;
• establishing the sources of historical development.

Society in Durkheim’s understanding is the interaction of individuals, which exists according to its own laws, i.e. a group thinks and acts differently than its members would if they were to become disunited. So Durkheim concludes about the primacy of the social and the secondary nature of the individual.

The behavior of an individual is determined by the social cohesion of society; two principles confront and interact in the individual: social and individual. With a decrease in the social cohesion of society, the individual loses value orientations, which leads to anomie.

Anomie is the absence of law, organization, and norms of behavior. E

Durkheim noted that such situations arise in times of crisis and radical social change, when people lose confidence in what is expected of them and when they find it difficult to frame their actions in terms of agreed upon norms. In such times, the old norms do not seem appropriate in the current environment, and the norms that have just emerged are not yet clearly articulated enough to provide clear and effective guidelines for behavior.

Old values ​​have been discarded, and new ones have not been established, as a result of which a situation arises when it is allowed to get rich at any cost, and to achieve victory by any means, when the end justifies the means. In these circumstances, E. Durkheim believed, one can expect an increase in the scale of deviant behavior.

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Notes

1. Gromov I. A., Matskevich I. A. Semenov V. A. Western sociology. - St. Petersburg: DNA Publishing House LLC, 2003. - P. 531
2. Pletnev A.V. Development of anomie among representatives of various professional groups of Russian society at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries. // News of the St. Petersburg State Agrarian University, 2013, No. 30, pp. 291-294.
3. Pletnev A.V. Development of anomie in the religious sphere of life in post-Soviet society // Modern studies of social problems (electronic scientific journal). 2013. No. 4(24).
4. Pletnev A.V. Religious anomie as a catalyst for deviation in modern society // Modern studies of social problems. (electronic scientific journal). No. 9(53), 2022.

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