Alienation is defined to mean emotional dissociation and isolation and is marked by an inability to follow the rules of society or share in the values in society.

Alienation is said to occur because people have difficulty adapting to societal change

Durkheim lived in a society in tremendous state of change (industrial revolution)

Used the term “anomie” to describe the condition of industrial workers who seemed to live without any roots or norms

Emile Durkheim

Wrote about alienation of the proletariat (working people) and the lumpenproletariat (unemployed people)

He believed that if those in power controlled aspects of the workers lives, then they will be content to not oppose

He also believed that if you “broke” the workers spirit– worked them continuously, they would be to exhausted to fight back or oppose

They would alienate themselves into loneliness through exhaustion

Karl Marx

Joining of cults or gangs Anarchy/ Extremism - set out to

destroy the society which they live through armed struggle• Terrorists

Contemporary Examples Of Alienation

Conformity can be defined as adjusting one's behavior or thinking to match other people.

Many reasons why people conform, including the desire to be accepted by others

Informational Influence- is the human desire to accept information that another admired person tells us is valid• Parent or friend tell you that smoking is bad for your health

Normative Influence- is the pressure to conform to the positive expectations of other. • E.g. some people take jobs because they feel like they are expected to.

Alienation can cause positive change• Women’s movement was about change because of disatisfaction with social roles

Forces Of Social Change

Conformity has a tendency to discourage social change.• E.g trying a new hairstyle

Nervous about reaction of others stifles desire to change

Forces Of Social Change