Larger groups require simpler and fewer binding norms

Evidence

The negative character of the bond that unifies the large group is revealed, above all, in its norms. It should be remembered that obligatory rules of every sort must be the simpler and the less voluminous (other things being equal), the larger the sphere of their application. There are much fewer rules of international courtesy, for instance, than there are courtesy rules which have to be observed within every smaller circle; or, the larger the states of the German Reich, the briefer, usually, are their constitutions. — Georg Simmel, The Sociology of Georg Simmel, 9462

Categorization

• DEFINE: Simmel’s principle that the scope of a rule’s application constrains its complexity — reciprocal relationship between group scale and norm complexity.
• XREF: Connects to Durkheim’s mechanical vs organic solidarity and to how the reader’s material on guardian/institution scale maps onto norm density — and to The Civilization of the Renaissance’s small-circle courtesy rules vs mass norms.