Dynamic Density
Encyclopedia
In sociology
, dynamic density refers to the combination of two things: population density
and the amount of social interaction within that population
.
had pointed to sufficient demand as a necessary condition for specialization, and Durkheim himself refers to Comte
for the idea that density of interaction is the decisive factor [for transition to occur]." (Rueschemeyer, 1982:580)
Durkheim also borrows from Darwinian theory
, and specifically from Darwin's The Origin of Species
, for his explanation.(Rueschemeyer, 1982) In the animal kingdom, a single species
of animal
, like sheep, cannot survive in very high volumes on a given stretch of land because each animal makes exactly the same demands on that land. (Gibbs, 2003) They need to exist in symbiosis
with other species, like the bees that fertilize the plants they consume, in order to thrive in greater numbers. (Gibbs, 2003) The same holds true within a human population. Had primitive societies
increased in population density for many generations without an eventual specialization of tasks, competition for resources among the increasing number of people would have become so fierce that humans would have started dying off. (Merton, 1994) However, a growing population alone is not sufficient enough to spark a change in the division of labor, because individuals and small groups of people can live in relative isolation from one another and still perform most of the tasks necessary for survival themselves, no matter how big the overall population gets. (Ritzer, 2007) A growing population must also increase the frequency with which people interact within and between social groups; this increase in dynamic density is likely to spark a division of labor and the transformation of social solidarity.
There are two types of social solidarity. The first is mechanical solidarity, where people are held together because they all serve the same purpose, or do the same things (as in a hunter-gatherer
society), and their collective consciousness
is therefore very strong. The people are all self-reliant, but they share the same experiences, understandings, and core beliefs, and can relate in that way. The second type of solidarity, organic solidarity, is the result of a substantial division of labor that has occurred due to much growth of dynamic density. People in organic solidarity have more specialized skills, so individuals are no longer self-sustaining. An example of this is that a philosopher has neither the time nor the ability to grow his own food, and so he is dependent upon a farmer and various other individuals so he can eat. In this situation, solidarity in society comes from the fact that people need the contribution of an increasing number of other people in order to function, and even to survive. (Ritzer, 2007)
The transition from one type of solidarity to another is readily apparent in history when looking at societal changes from repressive law systems to restitutive law systems. A repressive law system is one in which any law breaker is severely punished for their crimes. This type of law exists in mechanical solidarity because the laws are based on the very powerful collective conscience, or set of social norms, that the people in a mechanical society all strongly believe in. Any violation of these beliefs is seen as an extreme offense against society as a whole. In contrast, a restitutive law system is characteristic of organic solidarity. Restitutive laws require an offender to pay for the harm he did to whoever was affected by his crimes, or he is just asked to comply with the law. With the growth of dynamic density and resulting division of labor in society, collective consciousness is weakened severely and people no longer have a unified sense of morality
. (Muller, 1994) Everyone is no longer affected by or connected to every deviant action that takes place in society in organic solidarity, so the call for severity no longer exists.
Robert K. Merton
argues that Durkheim has no empirical evidence supporting a link between dynamic density and a change from mechanical to organic solidarity. He says that Durkheim seeks to ignore the role that social driven ends themselves play into how society interacts. (Merton, 1994)
Jack Gibbs also says that Durkheim’s theory of dynamic density leading to the division of labor is not scientifically testable for or evident of causality
, arguing that there is no feasible way to measure the frequency of interactions between people, and thus no way to track progress or growth of said frequency; without these measurements, it is impossible to prove any correlation
to division of labor. (Gibbs, 2003)
Dietrich Rueschemeyer argues from an economics
perspective that competition in production, which is the basis for a free market
system, does not have the same consequences as Darwinian competition. (Rueschemeyer, 1982) To him, it follows logically that increased demand due to increased population density, for a product such as corn in an agrarian society
, would improve rather than diminish the producers' chances of survival. (Rueschemeyer, 1982) Hence, it does not follow logically that dynamic density would cause the transition from mechanical to organic solidarity.
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, dynamic density refers to the combination of two things: population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
and the amount of social interaction within that population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
.
Context
Dynamic density is a key component in Emile Durkheim’s theory of modernization. In his book The Division of Labor in Society ([1893] 1949), Durkheim suggests that over time, societies go through a transition from being more primitive, i.e. mechanical, to being more modern, or organic; the difference lying in the source of their solidarity, or what holds them together. (Ritzer, 2007) According to Durkheim, the cause of this transition is an increase in dynamic density, an idea he drew from earlier sociologists. "Already Adam SmithAdam Smith
Adam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
had pointed to sufficient demand as a necessary condition for specialization, and Durkheim himself refers to Comte
Auguste Comte
Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism...
for the idea that density of interaction is the decisive factor [for transition to occur]." (Rueschemeyer, 1982:580)
Durkheim also borrows from Darwinian theory
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, and specifically from Darwin's The Origin of Species
The Origin of Species
Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published on 24 November 1859, is a work of scientific literature which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. Its full title was On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the...
, for his explanation.(Rueschemeyer, 1982) In the animal kingdom, a single species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
, like sheep, cannot survive in very high volumes on a given stretch of land because each animal makes exactly the same demands on that land. (Gibbs, 2003) They need to exist in symbiosis
Symbiosis
Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...
with other species, like the bees that fertilize the plants they consume, in order to thrive in greater numbers. (Gibbs, 2003) The same holds true within a human population. Had primitive societies
Primitive culture
In older anthropology texts and discussions, the term "primitive culture" is used to refer to a society that is believed to lack cultural, technological, or economic sophistication/development...
increased in population density for many generations without an eventual specialization of tasks, competition for resources among the increasing number of people would have become so fierce that humans would have started dying off. (Merton, 1994) However, a growing population alone is not sufficient enough to spark a change in the division of labor, because individuals and small groups of people can live in relative isolation from one another and still perform most of the tasks necessary for survival themselves, no matter how big the overall population gets. (Ritzer, 2007) A growing population must also increase the frequency with which people interact within and between social groups; this increase in dynamic density is likely to spark a division of labor and the transformation of social solidarity.
There are two types of social solidarity. The first is mechanical solidarity, where people are held together because they all serve the same purpose, or do the same things (as in a hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
society), and their collective consciousness
Collective consciousness
Collective consciousness was a term coined by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim to refer to the shared beliefs and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society...
is therefore very strong. The people are all self-reliant, but they share the same experiences, understandings, and core beliefs, and can relate in that way. The second type of solidarity, organic solidarity, is the result of a substantial division of labor that has occurred due to much growth of dynamic density. People in organic solidarity have more specialized skills, so individuals are no longer self-sustaining. An example of this is that a philosopher has neither the time nor the ability to grow his own food, and so he is dependent upon a farmer and various other individuals so he can eat. In this situation, solidarity in society comes from the fact that people need the contribution of an increasing number of other people in order to function, and even to survive. (Ritzer, 2007)
The transition from one type of solidarity to another is readily apparent in history when looking at societal changes from repressive law systems to restitutive law systems. A repressive law system is one in which any law breaker is severely punished for their crimes. This type of law exists in mechanical solidarity because the laws are based on the very powerful collective conscience, or set of social norms, that the people in a mechanical society all strongly believe in. Any violation of these beliefs is seen as an extreme offense against society as a whole. In contrast, a restitutive law system is characteristic of organic solidarity. Restitutive laws require an offender to pay for the harm he did to whoever was affected by his crimes, or he is just asked to comply with the law. With the growth of dynamic density and resulting division of labor in society, collective consciousness is weakened severely and people no longer have a unified sense of morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
. (Muller, 1994) Everyone is no longer affected by or connected to every deviant action that takes place in society in organic solidarity, so the call for severity no longer exists.
Critiques
There are some who disagree with Durkheim’s theory that dynamic density is the cause of social transition.Robert K. Merton
Robert K. Merton
Robert King Merton was a distinguished American sociologist. He spent most of his career teaching at Columbia University, where he attained the rank of University Professor...
argues that Durkheim has no empirical evidence supporting a link between dynamic density and a change from mechanical to organic solidarity. He says that Durkheim seeks to ignore the role that social driven ends themselves play into how society interacts. (Merton, 1994)
Jack Gibbs also says that Durkheim’s theory of dynamic density leading to the division of labor is not scientifically testable for or evident of causality
Causality
Causality is the relationship between an event and a second event , where the second event is understood as a consequence of the first....
, arguing that there is no feasible way to measure the frequency of interactions between people, and thus no way to track progress or growth of said frequency; without these measurements, it is impossible to prove any correlation
Correlation
In statistics, dependence refers to any statistical relationship between two random variables or two sets of data. Correlation refers to any of a broad class of statistical relationships involving dependence....
to division of labor. (Gibbs, 2003)
Dietrich Rueschemeyer argues from an economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
perspective that competition in production, which is the basis for a free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
system, does not have the same consequences as Darwinian competition. (Rueschemeyer, 1982) To him, it follows logically that increased demand due to increased population density, for a product such as corn in an agrarian society
Agrarian society
An agrarian society is a society that depends on agriculture as its primary means for support and sustenance. The society acknowledges other means of livelihood and work habits but stresses the importance of agriculture and farming, and was the most common form of socio-economic oganization for...
, would improve rather than diminish the producers' chances of survival. (Rueschemeyer, 1982) Hence, it does not follow logically that dynamic density would cause the transition from mechanical to organic solidarity.