Anomic Suicide

Abstract

The term “anomie” was first used by French sociologist Émile Durkheim to refer to situations where there was substantial disagreement over the appropriate norms and values that should govern social behavior. Durkheim's analysis of societies and how they are held together emphasizes the importance of an underlying value consensus, a “collective conscience” based on social guidelines (or norms) that most people adhere to and follow. When these values and norms are ignored or do not work so well, a situation of anomie is likely. Thus anomie occurs when aspects of a society are regulated inadequately. Durkheim's application of the concept of anomie in a social context is evidenced in his discussion of the anomic division of labor. One of the major issues that Durkheim focused on was the significance of the rise of individualism in modern industrial society. In his first major study, The Division of Labour in Society , which was originally published in 1893, he demonstrated how the rise of individualism exemplifies the emergence of a new type of social order – one that will increasingly transcend traditional forms of society (Durkheim, 1960). Durkheim argued that the function of the division of labor in modern society is the social integration of individuals, achieved through their fulfilling a range of complementary roles and tasks. Durkheim also referred to what he termed “abnormal” forms of the division of labor. For example, major social inequalities in society could lead to a forced division of labor that would be to the detriment of all society. The lack of a general and strong consensus encouraging interdependence between people could lead to a situation of anomie.