Social Solidarity in Modern Societies - Essay Example

However, despite all these aspects, social solidarity is used to signify a society that has its members pursuing social interests instead of individual interests. This paper will discuss the opinions different socialists and theorists on social solidarity. Comte coined the term sociology, which is commonly used today in studies related to the society. He believed in the need for social solidarity, a fact, which is evident in his work title The System of Positive Philosophy. He highlighted that social solidarity was of critical importance to the society as it was a precondition for social cohesion.

He placed emphasis on the need for individuals to strike a balance between theory and practice. Such balance would contribute to harmony in the society, especially between the individuals and their societies. He opined that the division of labor in a society was one of the critical aspects of ensuring social solidarity existed. He described the concept of social statics, which he considered as the anatomy of the society. Social statics were a concept that when adopted by the societies allowed for the division of labor.

Division of labor was impossible without such an anatomy. Moreover, he highlighted that division of labor allowed each individual to contribute positively to the whole being of the society (Etzioni and Etzioni-Halevy 9). Herbert Spencer also supports social solidarity because he viewed a society as analogous to an organism. Just as an organism has different parts with each playing a unique role, Spencer opined that a complete society exhibits such an organization. According to Spencer, societies exhibited visible growth just as organisms did.

More importantly, societies underwent a progressive differentiation, a factor that necessitated functional differentiation. However, he was keen to note that a society comprised of free individuals, hence was discrete and dispersed. The distinguishable parts of a society that