Durkheim`s distinction between mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity

Mechanical and organic solidarity, in the theory of the French social scientist Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), the social cohesiveness of small, undifferentiated societies (mechanical) and of societies differentiated by a relatively complex division of labor (organic). Mechanical solidarity is the social integration of members of a society who have common values and beliefs. These common values and beliefs constitute a “collective conscience” that works internally in individual members to cause them to cooperate. In contrast to mechanical solidarity, organic solidarity is social integration that arises out of the need of individuals for one another`s services. In a society characterized by organic solidarity, there is relatively greater division of labor, with individuals functioning much like the interdependent but differentiated organs of a living body.