This paper compare mechanical and organic solidarity. This paper also discusses how mechanical and organic solidarity applies to the trade labor unions.
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This is a blog for a community of students in Sociology 101A: "Sociological Theory," in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, Fall, 2008.
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This is the informal blog spot for errant questions, random ramblings, and clever musings. For the rest of the semester, we'll use this blog to clarify the work(s) of Lenin, Gramsci and Fanon. Feel free to endlessly post, and don't forget: Theory Rocks!
Will Obama bring the U.S. closer to socialism?
Obama: A Traditional or Organic Intellectual?
Grappling with Gramsci
"The mode of being of the new intellectual can no longer consist in eloquence, which is an exterior and momentary mover of feelings and passions, but in active participation in practical life, as constructor, organizer, 'permanent persuader' and not just a simple orator (but superior at the same time to the abstract mathematical spirit) ..." (Prison Notebooks, 10).
"The relationship between the intellectuals and the world of production is not as direct as it is with the fundamental social groups but is, in varying degrees, 'mediated' by the whole fabric of society and by the complex of superstructures, of which the intellectual are, precisely, the 'functionaries'" (Prison Notebooks 12).
"The superstructure of civil society are like the trench-systems of modern warfare. In war it would sometimes happen that a fierce artillery attack seemed to have destroyed the outer perimeter; and at the moment of their advance and attack the assailants would find themselves confronted by a line of defense which was still effective" (Prison Notebooks 235).
"The massive structures of modern democracies, both as State organizations, and as complexes of associations in civil society, constitute for the art of politics as it were the 'trenches' and the permanent fortifications of the front in the war of position ..." (Prison Notebooks 243).
"... [I]t is obvious that all the essential questions of sociology are nothing other than the questions of political science" (Prison Notebooks 244).
"As long as the class-State exists the regulated society cannot exist, other than metaphorically---i.e. only in the sense that the class-State too is a regulated society" (Prison Notebooks 257).
What did you think of the Rosa Luxemburg film?
Oh No He Didn't: Endless, Evolving and Perplexing Lenin Quotables
"We are in favour of a democratic republic as the best form of state for the proletariat under capitalism" (The State and Revolution, 323).
"Simultaneously with an immense expansion of democracy, which for the first time become democracy for the poor, democracy for the people, and not democracy for the money-bags, the dictatorship of the proletariat imposes a series of restrictions on the freedom of the oppressors, the exploiters, the capitalists. We must suppress them in order to free humanity from wage slavery, their resistance must be crushed by force; it is clear that there is no freedom and no democracy where there is suppression and where there is violence" (The State and Revolution, 373).
"The expression 'the state withers away' is very well chosen, for it indicates both the gradual and the spontaneous nature of the process. Only habit can, and undoubtedly will, have such an effect ..." (The State and Revolution, 374).
What did you think of Salt of the Earth?
Who got it right?
1 comment:
Felipe Garcia
GSI – Levien
Social Theory
February 4, 2009
Mechanical Solidarity Vs. Organic Solidarity
The major difference between mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity is how people interact in relations with one another. In mechanical solidarity people in a society are drawn to each other by their likeness and similarities. You would most likely see organic solidarity in smaller or tribal societies where people are doing the same job, like farming. Another example of where you could see mechanical solidarity would be in repressive law. According to Durkheim, people are willing to follow the same rules and except the punishments related to them because the rule is socially accepted and shared by everyone. This is the collective consciousness of society; this is what they share in common.
Organic solidarity pulls people in society together through their complementary differences. According to Durkheim, organic solidarity is more commonly related to a more advance society where people have become more specialized. Because people are separated and specialize in a certain area in the division of labor, people are interdependent on one another. An example of this can be seen in restitutory law. Reitutory law restores the previous “status quo ante” in social relations. This can be seen when union members negotiate a contract with their employers regarding wages and benefits in exchange for their specialized labor power.
Felipe Garcia
GSI – Levien
Social Theory
February 5, 2009
Solidarity in Labor Unions
Organic and mechanical solidarity are both natural elements of labor unions. Mechanical solidarity is probably the first thing that people see. This would be because when people think of unions, you are more likely to think of strikes and pickets where people are fight for wages and benefits. Usually people organize together for a common purpose, usually for better working conditions and a respectable income to live on. These could be examples of likeness or similarities. Another example of collective consciousness or mechanical solidarity could be the agreement on what strategy of how the members go about attaining these necessities. This could be a strike or public picket.
Now in order to have a successful action or strike, members must rely on other people in different areas of their union to display the union’s power in numbers. This could include people working in a different industry then them. For example, you can have a union representing janitors who clean downtown sky rises who may have to rely on members of another industry (perhaps the aerospace industry) to show up to the strike in order to display their power. These workers do not ordinarily share the same contract and have different needs and do different jobs, yet they are interdependent on another for support and solidarity. This is an example of the organic solidarity that can be found in a labor union.
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