Durkheim called it _____ when people become detached from the usual norms that guide their behavior.

• A. alienation
• B. fatalism
• C. anarchy
• D. anomie

Answer: (D)

Anomie is the state Durkheim described as normlessness, where the usual norms that guide behavior become weak, unclear, or disrupted. This detachment from established rules often arises during rapid social change or upheaval, leaving people unsure how to act. That fits the prompt because it highlights becoming detached from the norms that guide behavior. Alienation describes estrangement from work or social relations in Marxist terms, fatalism is a sense of resignation under heavy regulation, and anarchy means the absence of any governing rules or authority. In Durkheim’s vocabulary, normlessness specifically points to anomie.