Social anomie

Societies inherently possess a unique movement. Each type has its own way, its form, its social organization being that way. Thus, societies come about because of their social facts, their structures, roots, foundations, thoughts, and collective thinking. It is a social issue, because the human collective organizes itself in the way it is, based on what the social collectivity positions and structures itself, based on things external to itself. 

In capitalist societies, there is a tendency towards the idea of ​​individual freedoms, so that citizens may be happy. And also, although some capitalist countries are not like this, they tend to be republics and have elections. This occurs mainly due to two factors: the historical roots of capitalism in the idea of ​​a republic. The emerging bourgeoisie of the French Revolution had a strong connection with this model of government, associated with its ideals. What Marxists therefore call bourgeois democracy, or republic. And also because it is economically advantageous to grant a certain degree of freedom, as this makes citizens more productive, increasing capital, since they end up pursuing what they find meaningful. Thus, this is the common and normal flow of capitalist societies. 

However, this is where Émile Durkheim's term "social anomie" comes in, that is, a period in which the normal and commonplace order is broken. In capitalism, this occurs mainly due to economic crises. Once this crisis arrives, much begins to be lost or worsened, leading to social degeneration. This manifests itself in a questioning of values ​​and ideas about rights and freedoms. Many social contradictions, previously suppressed due to better structures, begin to surface more forcefully, potentially leading to the degeneration of the state. 

In the Brazilian case, the greatest example of degeneration was the 1964 coup, where the democratic order was broken, leading to a military dictatorship. A government without elections, led by the military. There, driven by the context of anti-communism at the time and an institutional impasse, the liberal capitalism that existed in Brazil until then was broken. For 21 years, social anomie prevailed. In 1985, the previous order was restored. On a global scale, there was a questioning of social and individual rights in the 2010s, heavily influenced by the economic crisis that began in 2008. In Brazil, this also resonated. Although it was a period of social anomie, it did not corrupt the state. But it is a period in which existing social problems worsened. Now it is passing, collective thinking is becoming more like what it was. Social anomie is ending, and normal order is returning.