Sociology Lecture Notes: Durkheim and Marx — Solidarity, Division of Labor, Anomie, Capitalism

Core claim: Suicide likelihood is inversely related to social cohesion, except for altruistic suicide.
Altruistic suicide: Self-sacrifice due to very high group cohesion (e.g., soldier saving comrades).
Focus: Micro-level individual connectedness vs. macro-level societal cohesion.

Macro-level cohesion types:
- Mechanical solidarity (preindustrial): Bound by collective conscience, shared beliefs, homogeneity, little tolerance for deviance (e.g., medieval villages, ~75 occupations, Catholic Church influence).
- Organic solidarity (modern): Bound by economic interdependence and division of labor, diverse goals, individualism emerges with urbanization and industrialization.

Book focus: Macro-level analysis of social cohesion through economic interdependence.
Industrial era: Extreme division of labor (e.g., medieval ~75 occupations vs. modern >4{,}000 in US).
Specialization: Leads to interdependence; people rely on others for goods/services (e.g., global supply chain for turning on a light switch).
Summary of solidarity shift: Mechanical via similarity, Organic via interdependence.

Modern cohesion rests on economic interdependence rather than shared beliefs.
Social bonds are sustained through economic transactions and the division of labor.

Social strain: Clash between economic aspirations and means.
Anomie: Extreme social strain; breakdown of social control, lax/ambiguous norms, leading to disconnection and rule-breaking.
Contemporary context: Contested norms lead to confusion (normlessness).
Norms vs normlessness:
- Norms: Shared, culturally/situationally specific expectations for behavior.
- Normlessness: Condition of too many competing norms, unclear behavior guidelines.

Norms are culturally and situationally specific shared expectations for behavior.

Marx is a founder of conflict theory: societies characterized by inequality and conflict due to economic interests.
Social classes (Marx):
- Bourgeoisie: Owns means of production (factories, farms, capital).
- Proletariat: Sells labor to survive.
Means of production: Resources used to produce goods/services (property, capital).
Value creation vs. distribution: Profit from difference between value created by labor and wages paid; workers paid less than value they create.

Profit: Exploited excess value of labor.
- Example: Worker creates $25/hr value, paid $15/hr; $10/hr is profit for capitalist.
- Illustrates workers receive a fraction of value created; profit accrues to owners.

Education access and cost (e.g., $4,000-$5,000 per semester tuition).
College degrees not guaranteed material success; advanced training often needed.
Economic systems favor capital owners; working-class sells labor.

Alienation: Separation of workers from products, production process, and their own labor.
Contrast: Medieval craftsperson owns product vs. modern factory worker detached from product's value (e.g., Nike).
Leads to disorientation, powerlessness, dissatisfaction.

Bachelor's degree not a guaranteed path to material success; advanced training/retraining often required.
Importance of understanding economics beyond grades.

Durkheim: Social cohesion prevents suicide (except altruistic).
Transition from mechanical (shared beliefs) to organic (interdependence) solidarity.
Division of labor creates interdependence, but also strain and norm fragmentation.
Anomie: Breakdown of norms from rapid change or unfulfilled goals.
Marx: Class conflict (bourgeoisie vs. proletariat); profit through exploitation of labor's surplus value.
Profit, capital, ownership shape inequality; contribute to alienation.
Norms vary; modern societies exhibit normlessness due to pluralism.
Education and opportunity are linked but face systemic barriers.
Interdependence, technology, globalization reshape cohesion, potentially intensifying strain.
Sociological theories are relevant to contemporary events.