Throughout all societies there are common trends; laws, relationships, hierarchies and among other things, crime. There is no society in existence where individuals obey every rule that the society has set for them. The law is an external form of social control that is broken often but not penalized nearly as much as it is broken. This means that there is the small chance that an individual or group can get away with breaking the law. However, the reprimands and penalties of breaking the law can be great and with this is mind members of society are forced to ask the question, is it really worth it? During this case study I will explore the possible reasons that may cause an individual or group in a society to commit the crime of drug dealing with specific correlation to Durkheim’s ideas of organic solidarity. Illegal and illicit drugs are all seriously harmful substances that have negative short and long-term effects on those who use them. If we were able to understand more about what causes people to feel they have a right to distribute these substances to others in their society then maybe there is a way we can understand how to decrease drug trafficking and distribution.
In New Zealand, the laws are clearly spelt out in regards to any use, possession and distribution of drugs and there are penalties carried out if those laws are broken. Yet, people still continue to break the rules surrounding drug distribution. One of the possible explanations behind drug dealing could be to do with Durkheim’s idea of division of labour and specialization. As societies become more complex, they are unable to function with mechanical solidarity, thus we see the emergence of organic solidarity. As opposed to mechanical, which focuses more on similarities and minimal individuality, organic solidarity specializes tasks and promotes