anomie

In the social sciences, a state of ‘normlessness’ created by the breakdown of commonly agreed standards of behaviour and morality; the term often refers to situations where the social order appears to have collapsed. The concept was developed by French sociologist Emile Durkheim.

Durkheim used ‘anomie’ to describe societies in transition during industrialization. The term was adapted by US sociologist Robert Merton to explain deviance and crime in the USA as a result of the disparity between high goals and limited opportunities.