A lack of social norms leading to a breakdown between an individual and their community is called what?

• A. Anomie
• B. Social Reproduction
• C. Cultural Relativism
• D. Organization

Answer: (A)

Anomie is the state of normlessness that occurs when the usual social norms fail to regulate behavior, leaving individuals feeling disconnected from their community. Emile Durkheim introduced this idea to describe periods of rapid social or economic change when shared values and rules weaken, so people feel uncertain about how to behave and how they fit within society. This breakdown in norms creates a sense of alienation and can lead to deviant behavior as individuals navigate a world without clear guidance.

Other terms don’t describe this phenomenon: social reproduction refers to the transmission of social patterns and inequality across generations; cultural relativism is the practice of evaluating a culture on its own terms; organization simply denotes a structured group or system.