Open course "The Rise and Fall of Complex Societies", Jay Silverstein. Lecture 3 | SAS UTMN

Описание

This lecture explores the rise and fall of complex societies by examining state formation, social power, and the forces sustaining or disrupting cohesion. Drawing on Emile Durkheim’s concepts of mechanical and organic solidarity, Jay highlights how states use constructed institutions to unify diverse populations under shared identities. The lecture addresses the breakdown of solidarity — anomie — as a precursor to collapse, linking it to Rousseau’s critique of privatized land as a source of inequality and state formation through collective protection. This transitions into historical materialism, with Marx’s view that material conditions and property relations drive class division and alienation.