Anomie is a sociological concept, originated by Durkheim, similar in scope to Marx’s concept of alienation. Anomie is held to be present in a society where normative regulation, the common acceptance of value and rules, is weak, and it consists of feelings of individual isolation, loneliness and meaninglessness that manifest themselves in social disorder. Though there are many technical definitions, both by Durkheim and in later works, the basic meaning of anomie is contained in one of Durkheim’s more poetic descriptions: it is ‘the malady of infinite aspiration’.
What Durkheim meant was that modern industrial society, which sometimes seems to lack any moral or ethical basis beyond utilitarianism or arguments based on rational expectation, cannot offer anyone a reason for not doing, or trying to get, anything they want, although ever-growing personal appetites cannot ultimately be satisfied. To Durkheim this state of affairs was the result of the Industrial Revolution, which broke down the traditional pattern of existence that bound men together closely through deeply accepted cultural norms (see corporatism). The concept can be used to explain unrest and dissatisfaction in any sort of social system, though it is often used either loosely or even tautologously (for example, to mean no more than a state of lawlessness, despite the fact that the term is actually intended to explain the lawlessness). One may question the validity of Durkheim’s contrast between anomic industrial societies and traditional societies where the malady is absent because all know and accept their role; but the concept of anomie itself, if used with care, can be illuminating.
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