Anomie results from changes which disrupt relationships; and produce social problems such as high rate of suicide.
Durkheim thought that in a shared culture, the collective conscience exists above individuals and shapes their choices. In a society based on likeness (as in mechanical solidarity) the collective conscience does not change from generation to generation.. It is completely different to a particular consciousness of a single individual. In such as society people must conform to the culture of their society to avoid the risk of punishment, usually harsh punishment.
 Examples of this include
 1. The stoning of women found to have committed adultery.
 2. The forcible drowning of witches (women who cast spells - at least how male courts have so interpreted the sayings of these women).

Durkheim's views have been questioned.
1. The work on the Port MacKay aboriginal ignored the fact that this society was based on marriage clans. The work is based on published literature, not original fieldwork.
2. Durkheim exaggerates how much social structure influences culture or is the determining factor.
3. Little room for human creativity.
Many pastoral societies and those based subsistence agriculture nevertheless have the ability to produce complex works of art: e.g. the Benin bronzes from Nigeria or the grave goods of Anglo-Saxon chiefs in sixth- and seventh-century England.
4. Durkheim does not address the problem of cultural differences between groups.   

Durkheim was the pioneer of the social theory of culture.

FUNCTIONALISM AND CULTURE

Durkheim influenced Talcott Parsons. One of Parsons' books is The Social System, published in 1951. Parsons sees cultural objects as symbols of cultural tradition. For Parsons, amongst much else, culture includes
 1. Language
 2. Flags as symbols (Talcott Parsons was an American)