202 THE SOCIAL THEORY OF GEORG SIMMEL 
groups and the manifold differentiation among the ele- 
ments of large groups may be observed in coexisting social 
circles as well as in the subsequent phases of the develop- 
ment of one group. It seems to result from a general and 
fundamental principle which can be expressed in the fol- 
lowing formulation: The individual appears to maintain 
a certain fixed proportion between the social and the indi- 
vidual aspects of his existence, which merely changes its 
form. If he is a member of a small group, he has little op- 
portunity for the expression of his individual uniqueness. 
But his little group has an individuality of its own. If the 
group or the circle extends, the individual can express his 
individual uniqueness, but the group loses its individual 
distinctness. The personality of the individual gains in 
individual uniqueness, but loses in social uniqueness. As 
part of a whole, he is less characterized by membership in 
the larger group than by membership in the smaller group. 
[n other words, the elements of differentiated groups are 
undifferentiated, while those of undifferentiated groups are 
differentiated. This is not a formulation of a natural law. 
It is merely a formulation of a phenomenological correla- 
tion. It is a synthetic formulation in one single concept 
of the uniform results of uniform series of contingent 
events. The formulation does not indicate the cause of the 
phenomenon, but merely the phenomenon which results 
from a specific co-ordination of a great many formative 
forces. 
The first part of the formulation is exemplified in the 
social organization of the Quakers. The group as a whole 
is extremely individualistic, as is manifest in its religious 
principle. It separates itself sharply from other groups and 
lacks an understanding of the higher political unity and its 
purposes. On the other hand, it binds the individuals 
strictly to a uniform type of group life that leaves little or