What does Durkheim mean by anomie?

Durkheim was a functionalist, this means that believed each institution in society performed an essential role that helped to maintain societal norms and values. He believed that if an institution failed to perform it's role, the norms and values existing in a society would be unclear, leading to a state of anomie (literally, without norms).

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Answered by Samara L. Sociology tutor

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