Notes

How can we attempt to remedy the problem of alienation?
To remedy the problem of alienation I think it would be useful to teach people about Marx’s perception of an alienated society. I believe many people fail to remember and consider the fact that we have built these social institutions. Bringing a self-awareness to the public could incite the motivation for action against these political institutions. Together, people could team up to think of ways to take away power from these social institutions. For instance, maybe there needs to be less power from congress representatives and more power to voting from the citizens.

How can we try to reduce anomie?
To reduce anomie, it may be useful for people to preserve old ideas in order to avoid chaos and confusion. Anomie is the perception that as society continues to change around us, we are bombarded with new ideas and perceptions, which cause us to be confused as to where we are headed as a society. New ideas and perceptions can be beneficial for a healthier community, but it can also negatively affect a community or population. For example, since the election of Donald Trump as president, it has introduced new perceptions of what a president may be. Never before have we had a president who has referred to women, minorities, and LGBTQ population as the way he did. This is negative for society because some may start to believe this is normal and it may encourage future presidents to believe it is okay to act in this way, which is Durkeim’s anomie. To reduce situations like these, I believe it is best to use all types of media for people to discuss why this type of behavior is not appropriate. I believe if people openly talk about how and why Trump’s behavior is not appropriate, it may help people to be less confused from right and wrong. If we all explain why this is wrong, it will help those who would have been confused. Citizens need to continue to discuss these political events and why they are not acceptable, which will make a clearer and stronger line between right and wrong.

Is it possible to achieve a balance between too much and too little normative constraint, so that people can be neither alienated nor anomic?
I do not believe it is possible to have a perfect balance of normative constraint. Since we are talking about a society, which is a population of people, there would be many different types of people with various perceptions. What may be a perfect normative constraint balance to one person, may not apply to another person. People are too different to have a perfect society in that way. I believe there could be a perfect normative balance in a family, but it would be challenging and not common. For a society to have a perfect normative balance, everyone would have to have the same general opinions, which would never happen.