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Sociological Thought

notes On the basis of repressive law Durkheim has described crime and punishment in the following manner:
1. crime: Durkheim has described crime on the basis of repressive law. Punishment is associated
with crime. There is no society in which punishment is not given for crime. In all the societies, crime
is considered to be a hurt to the “social consciousness”; is considered a task against social ethics; that
is why only there is a reaction in the society, against crime. Repressive law is the sanction of te group.
As per these laws, crime is a task which the members of the group consider to be inappropriate, which
hurt the group’s feelings.

Did You Know? Determination of crime happens through repressive laws.

2. crime is a knock on the group’s feeling: In each group there are some such feelings which are
equivalently prevalent in the entire group; work against them only is crime. Defining crime, Durkheim
has written, “An act is criminal when it knocks down powerful and definite states of group’s soul.”
3. punishment: Act which is punishable by the group, it is crime. Crime only determines the amount
and nature of punishment. Punishment is group’s emotional reaction against the crime. On behaving
against group’s feelings, there is a negative reaction in the heart of each member and the members of
the group want to take revenge. Result of feeling of revenge is punishment. That is why Durkheim
says that the objective of punishment is to take revenge and to counterattack. Because the nature of
crime is social, hence nature of punishment is also social. Our revenge against these crimes is not
personal. We do not express this revenge because the criminal has harmed us but we do it because
crime is an attack on those pious and traditional principles and feelings which is the centre of respect
in our hearts.
Durkheim has also mentioned about the social usefulness of crime. As per him crime ties the people
of the group in the thread of solidarity. All people think similarly to take the revenge of the criminal
act or to punish the criminal. Similar anger established mental solidarity among the members of the
group. Durkheim’s saying is that crime brings agitated souls closer to each other and concentrates
them. In the same way, punishment is also helpful from social view. Punishment only is the source of
repression. Repressive law determines the punishment. Punishment is a mechanical reaction which
is the result of sharp provocative behavior of the group and the utility of punishment is that it heals
the wounds of social consciousness. In this way through the general attributes and utilities of crime
and punishment, Durkheim has presented the mutual relation of society’s mechanical solidarity and
repressive law.
From the above mentioned description it is clear that at one side, crime, by hurting the group feelings,
alerts the group consciousness present inside the members of the society and on the other side,
punishment, for protecting these group feelings and re-dignifying them, ties the group in a thread of
solidarity for taking the revenge from the criminal. This solidarity is the result of similar agitations
and similar reactions. Repressive law expresses such kind of solidarity of the society, which Durkheim
has given the name of “mechanical solidarity”.
Durkheim has considered the society to be a group consciousness which is present inside each personal
consciousness. Because of this group consciousness, mechanical solidarity appears in people. Building
of group consciousness is done on the basis of general feelings and principles of the group. Hence on
the basis of similarities, similar natures and conformities, mechanical solidarity is born.

organic solidarity

As opposed to mechanical solidarity, Durkheim has called the second type of solidarity as “Organic
Solidarity” which is found in modern, complex, developed and industrialized societies. In such

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