Durkheim observed that rapid social change
and a more specialized division of labor produce
strains in society. These strains lead to a breakdown
in traditional organization, values, and authority
and to a dramatic increase in anomie—a condition
in which social control becomes ineffective as a
result of the loss of shared values and of a sense of
purpose in society. According to Durkheim, anomie
is most likely to occur during a period of rapid
social change. In Suicide (1964b/1897), he explored
▲ Emile Durkheim
© Bettmann/CORBIS
the relationship between anomic social conditions
and suicide, a concept that remains important in the
twenty-first century (see “Sociology Works!”).
Durkheim’s contributions to sociology are so