Forms of Social Solidarity in American Politics

On January 6, 2021, a mob of rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol and, in many ways, American democracy itself. QAnon, a conspiracy centered around the clandestine activities of the elite, was a key group in the attack. Since then, QAnon has featured in many headline-worthy national crimes, including multiple attempts to harm elected officials. While there is value in questioning how QAnon became so powerful, it is more instructive to consider why people are compelled to live, die, and kill for an ideology so outrageous. In this paper, I ask why pockets of mechanical solidarity exist within societies governed by organic solidarity. Following Émile Durkheim’s theory of social solidarity, I interrogate QAnon’s rise and conclude that QAnon exists within two large organic societies—the United States and the internet writ large. However, QAnon exists as a pocket of mechanical solidarity, and its rise is deeply connected to how people seek out and choose their communities. By comparing Durkheim’s theories to those of other scholars, I find that the supposedly anachronistic presence of mechanical solidarity distills a question of trust. I posit the idea that certain people have an affinity for supported trust, naturally occurring in mechanical solidarity. Simultaneously, the unique landscape of platform capitalism exaggerates feelings of rapid change while disseminating sensational and bias-confirming information. QAnon and similar communities provide an alluring respite.