Durkheim & Weber

According to Durkheim, the Industrial Revolution had far-reaching effects on the social interactions of people in Europe and America (x). Prior to the Industrial Revolution, mechanical solidarity existed in which people's interactions occurred mainly because they were engaged in similar activities. Consider for instance, medieval society with its sharply drawn divisions between the rural population, artisans, clerics, the military, and the nobility. Goods were produced by the collective efforts of relatively small, close-knit groups of people. Extended family members often worked together on farms, home-based shops, or at locations in close proximity to the home. The comparatively simple division of labor that characterized pre-industrial society gave rise to guilds, entry into which was difficult for outsiders. The skills of the artisans were passed down from one generation to another. Maintaining social solidarity was relatively simple during premodern times.

Achieving social solidarity became more problematic with the advent of the post-Industrial Revolution era. Machine work replaced hand work. Most manufacturing employees were consigned to regimente

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symbols, members of society were welded together in a web of mutual dependence. Although the importance of religion has diminished, it formed the basis for modern penal laws, which regulate human behavior like religion once did. Social life in premodern societies often had religion at its core. Villages were divided into parishes and the observance of religion took place at the community level. In modernity, social bonds created by geographical territory have become blurred and meaningless (liv). Because the state is too enormous an entity around which individuals can maintain common bonds, society naturally divides itself into subgroups: "A nation cannot be maintained unless, between the state and individuals, a whole range of secondary groups are interposed" (liv). Durkheim stated that the formation of an ideal world is a natural product of social life because it is the function of society to look after the best interests of its members (49). To accomplish this end, penal law was established. The orderly maintenance of society is dependent on the repression of criminal activity. Penal law is religious in origin. Durkheim supports this theory by pointing to the ancient religious texts of India, Judea, Egypt, and R
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Approximate Word count = 1650
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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