202 THE SOCIAL THEORY OF GEORG SIMMEL
groups and the manifold differentiation among the elements
 of large groups may be observed in coexisting social
circles as well as in the subsequent phases of the development
 of one group. It seems to result from a general and
fundamental principle which can be expressed in the following
 formulation: The individual appears to maintain
a certain fixed proportion between the social and the individual
 aspects of his existence, which merely changes its
form. If he is a member of a small group, he has little opportunity
 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 correlation.
 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