172 THE SOCIAL THEORY OF GEORG SIMMEL 
system are objective structures relatively independent of 
the individual priest, civil servant, or merchant. As indi- 
viduals, they carry out the functions which these struc- 
tures possess as organs of the group, but they do not pro- 
duce them. Although the bearers of the special social 
structures, they remain none the less subject to the group 
as a whole and to the special conditions which the func- 
tioning activity of these organs imposes upon the group as 
a whole. The merchant must buy the articles of his per- 
sonal use, the judge is subject to law, the tax-collector to 
taxes, and the priest to confession. But over and above 
their individual elements, these special organs embody 
and objectify the forces that hold the group together. 
They further consolidate the group elements into a unit 
and give to the group coherence, apart from its functional 
aspect, an objective structural existence. 
The formation of special organs has great advantages 
and contributes considerably to a better preservation of 
the group. It permits a greater flexibility in policies and a 
quicker and more efficient adaptation to changing con- 
ditions. The transference of special functions to smaller 
groups opens the possibility for the use of expert knowledge 
and a higher average intelligence, while, on the other hand, 
it reduces the dangers of emotional excesses resulting from 
increased collective suggestibility.! 
These specialized structures for the fulfilment of spe- 
cific social functions contribute, therefore, greatly to the 
preservation of the group. But, on the other hand, this 
preservation also requires that the differentiated organs 
shall not attain complete independence. They serve their 
purpose only if they remain structural condensations of the 
formerly direct reciprocities between the elements of the 
larger group. They fulfil their function only if they give 
L Soz., pp. 537-56.