Simmel Social Roles

Do we have the freedom to be who we want to be? How much of our identity can we claim to be truly of our own choosing? Numerous theories claim that our social structures decide who we are and therefore robbing us the power to choose what we wish to be. Great theorists such as Georg Simmel argue that our social networks best explain who we are. To a very great extent, it is hard to separate the way one behaves from their social network. This paper seeks to investigate the claim that our social structures are indeed responsible for who we are.
Simmel argues that the more diverse a group is, the more a person changes and becomes unique. He argues that while groups contain people of different personalities that they are the same. This means that groups are similar in form. This is because when groups that have the same form and dynamics eventually break up, they evolve and become alike (Simmel, 301). This means that within a group there are individuals who play roles that are similar in nature to the roles in the other groups. For instance, a manager in a company plays the same role as a team captain in a football team. Although the tasks and definition of roles are different they are the same in function. This is because both manager and captain provide leadership and inspiration for the other members of the group. According to Simmel this definition of roles affects a larger group. This is because there is competition for the position. This leads to the splitting of the large group into smaller groups where members feel more represented. This is because once positions and role within the group become defined members feel inferior and the issue of inequality comes in (Simmel, 302).
In terms of individuality Simmel argues that individ...

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...ar, there might be the mean girl, the richest among them, the smart one and maybe the slut. When these girls move to other groups, they tend to assume the same roles as the one assigned to them even when they are older. This is because a group like this is usually small, cohesive, and exclusively with the aim of keeping outsiders at bay.

Georg Simmel proves that individuality is hard to separate from group dynamics. This is because human being have to interact with others in groups. Within groups the person discovers their own individuality, but only in the context of the group. The extent to which one discovers their individuality is based on the size of the group. If a group is big an individual has a higher probability of developing a sense of individuality. In a small cohesive group it is harder to separate the values of the individual from those of the group.