Mechanical and Organic Solidarity

Mechanical and organic solidarity are two concepts introduced by the French philosopher Emile Durkheim to describe the way communities are kept together. These categories relate to different kinds of social cooperation, or the degree to which individuals feel connected to each other and to the broader social community (Ručman, 2019).

Mechanical camaraderie is distinguished by a high degree of resemblance and common ideals among individuals of a community (Wulandari, 2022). This form of cooperation is characteristic of traditional societies with strong religious or cultural traditions, where individuals have little specialization and are linked together by shared beliefs and practices. In mechanical solidarity, social cooperation is founded on the resemblance of individuals, and people share a collective consciousness that affects their behavior.

In comparison, organic cooperation is founded on the interconnectedness of individuals in a complicated, contemporary society (Bowness et al., 2021). In organic solidarity, societal stability is founded on the division of labor and the complimentary tasks that individuals perform in the community. Unlike in mechanical solidarity, individuals in organic solidarity have different talents, values, and opinions, and they depend on each other to function as a community.

To recapitulate, mechanical solidarity is based on the resemblance of individuals and their common ideals, while organic solidarity is based on the interconnectedness of individuals and their complimentary responsibilities in a complicated society. Mechanical camaraderie is typical of conventional societies, while organic solidarity is representative of contemporary, industrialized societies.

References

Bowness, J., Tulle, E., & McKendrick, J. (2021). Understanding the parkrun community; sacred Saturdays and organic solidarity of parkrunners. European Journal for Sport and Society, 18(1), 44-63.

Ručman, A. B. (2019). Social ties, solidarity, and threat perception in rural and urban communities in Slovenia. Revija za kriminalistiko in kriminologijo/Ljubljana, 70(5), 409-421.

Wulandari, R. (2022, November). Altruism: A Study of the Form of Mechanical Solidarity of Urban Communities in Denpasar City. In ICHELSS: International Conference on Humanities, Education, Law, and Social Sciences (Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 867-877).

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