Anomie

Anomie was a concept first defined by the french sociologist Emile Durkiehm. It is the idea that when people find themselves in rapidly changing social conditions they will lose the social guides to behavior. This leads to a state of normlessness and a lack of understanding of acceptable behaviors.
- Durkhiem saw anomie resulting from the transition of a rural agrarian society into a urban one.He explained his ideas in his book The Division of Labor in Society ( 1893)
- Durkhiem research suicide as a way to show the results of anomie. He was able to demonstrate that suicide rates increased when economic conditons declined are improved. He hypothesized it was the social transitions that created a state of anomie and led to the increased suicide rates (Suicide: Astudy in Sociology; 1897)
Durkhiem also believed crime to be a normal and necessary part of society.