Page 30 - Contemporary Political Sociology Globalization Politics and Power

16 Changing Definitions of Politics and Power

symbols that express beliefs and values in public rituals and ceremonies,
and which guide individuals and constrain their behavior. Durkheim
famously, and strikingly, likens the state to the brain: “ its principal func-
tion is to think ” (Durkheim, 1992 : 51). Modern societies can only be
bound by “ organic solidarity, ” which is experienced by those who fi nd
themselves interdependent because they occupy different but equally
essential roles in the collective endeavor that is society, and who are
bound by common respect for the rights of the individual. This is com-
pared to the mechanical solidarity experienced in simpler pre - modern
societies where a strong sense of community is generated out of the simi-
larities of members ’ lives. The state fosters solidarity by creating and
transforming collective representations into binding decisions in law and
policy for the good of all (Vogt, 1993 ).
Although Durkheim generally writes as if what is functional for social
order will inevitably come to pass, according to Hans - Peter Muller, his
political sociology is intended to show how organic solidarity might be
achieved. Durkheim actually lived through times of great confl ict in nine-
teenth century France, which he attributed to the difficult transition from

an agrarian - corporatist to an industrial - capitalist society (Muller, 1993 :
95; see also Lukes, 1973 ). Unlike Marx or Weber, however, Durkheim

did not see conflict as intrinsic to modern societies. On the contrary,
where there is conflict, this is attributable to lack of proper social and

normative integration. According to Durkheim, it was necessary to reform
French society, to prevent egoism triumphing over moral individualism,
by coordinating the democratic state, occupational groups, and the indi-
vidualistic ideal. This meant reform to create a meritocratic society:
Durkheim saw inherited wealth as undermining basic levels of trust in
the legal contracts on which modern economies depend (Parkin, 1992 :
chapter 4 ). It also involved the fostering of occupational associations, or
guilds, to mediate between the state and the individual, to protect the
individual from the state if it should become too strong, but above all to
foster moral consciousness for the common good. For example, Durkheim
believed that individuals should vote as members of their professional
associations rather than according to where they happen to live, in order
to encourage each person to reflect on their shared interests with others

in their group and, by extension, with others in the society. Associations
are moral communities intended to reshape self - interest for the good of
all rather than to further the aims of their members; though linked to
occupation, Durkheim seems to have imagined a guild as more like a
civil rights organization than like a trade union. This makes him some-
thing of a pluralist, though in a rather limited sense, given his overarching