mechanical and organic solidarity

Fig. 18 Mechanical and organic solidarityFig. 18 Mechanical and organic solidarity. A sum many of Durkheim's ideal types (from Lukes, 1973)

mechanical and organic solidarity

the distinction drawn by Emile DURKHEIM (1893) between two types of SOCIAL SOLIDARITY: mechanical solidarity, based on the similarity between individuals, the form of solidarity predominant in simple and less advanced societies, and organic solidarity, based on the DIVISION OF LABOUR, and complementarities between individuals, the form of solidarity ideally occurring in modern advanced societies. Durkheim formulated the distinction between the two types of solidarity by identifying the demographic and morphological features basic to each type, the typical forms of law, and formal features and content of the conscience collective, which ought to be associated with each type (see Fig. 18).

The reality, Durkheim argued, was that in modern societies organic solidarity was as yet imperfectly realized. See also INTEGRATION.