Thursday, February 5, 2009

Durkheim, Solidarity and Teams

Durkheim describes two types of solidarity, mechanical and organic. In this memo, I look at the relation of solidarity to the sports team.
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3 comments:

  1. Becca CasterlineFebruary 5, 2009 at 2:39 PM

    The differences between mechanical and organic solidarity are dramatic. Mechanical solidarity is based on likenesses between the members of society, indicating that everyone in society has similar goals and there is no division of labor because the people are all the same. The collective consciousness, or the common ideas of a society that form “a determinate system with a life of its own” (39), is more important than the individual because with mechanical solidarity, the individual cannot effectively function without the rest of society (84). Mechanical solidarity utilizes repressive laws to punish the crimes of the individuals in society. This punishment is, according to Durkheim, necessarily public, passionate, and organized (55-9). Finally, the state embodies, represents and symbolizes the collective consciousness in mechanical solidarity (42-3).

    Organic solidarity is, on the other hand, based on complimentary differences of the individuals who make up society. Durkheim uses the analogy of a human body that needs each of its individual parts to function healthily in order for the body as a whole to function healthily. Each individual is a body part that makes up the society that is the body as a whole (85). By extension, this indicates that in organic solidarity, the individual consciousness is more important than the collective consciousness. Organic solidarity uses restitutive law, which restores the previous state of affairs, to keep the body of society healthy (68). The interdependence that is created by restitutive law and organic solidarity is regulated by the state through the use of a division of labor (169).

    Within the institution of the team, Durkheim would say that organic solidarity is at play. The division of labor is employed on a team, as each member of the team and the coach, each has a role to make the team a successful entity. The members of a team are entirely interdependent upon one another. For example, on a soccer team, sometimes the goalkeeper will feel guilty when a goal is scored upon her. However, in order for the opposing team to score that goal, the ball has to get passed ten of the goalkeeper’s teammates before it reaches her. This collective effort to keep the ball out of the goal, whether by trying to score, as the forwards do, or by just kicking the ball out of bounds as the defenders attempt to do, uses the individual consciousness of each player to create a collective consciousness of the team.

    Where Marx would see class division within a team as a negative aspect, Durkheim would view the different classes, formed by coaches and captains, veteran players, and rookie players, as forming the division of labor that allow the collective consciousness to maintain its effectiveness through the years. Every person on the team, whether on the field or off, influences the game, and so this obvious division of labor and class difference becomes a positive and absolutely necessary aspect of the miniature society represented within the sports team.

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  2. RenaFebruary 5, 2009 at 9:42 PM

    Durkheim would assert that sports teams in addition to possessing organic solidarity also possess mechanical solidarity. There is interdependence and a division of labor, but they also share a common goal. Thus they have a collective consciousness. They all strive to win the game. Each person feels a dedication to the team. The collective consciousness in this sense takes precedence over the individual consciousness. The collective consciousness of the team directly weighs on each person because they all desire to win. Every one wears a uniform and attends practices and engages in other similar tasks. Sports teams are a great modern example of both organic and mechanical solidarity.

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  3. UBFebruary 8, 2009 at 5:24 PM

    There's also division of labor in sports because there are rules and contracts to make sure players are not exploited. The skills of an athlete are considered their specialization, so there are several purposes for players to have contracts. The contract is beneficial to the owner of the team because the player isn’t allowed to quit the team if they are offered a higher salary from another team. It also protects the player from being fired if they are playing poorly or are injured because they are guaranteed an income.

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