ility of the leadership to falter. Ultimately,social control weakened, and the disintegration of the society is complete.1In addition, Emile Durkheim's state of anomie is applicable to thissituation. Anomie, as defined by Webster is, "a lack of purpose or identity in aperson or in a society; rootlessness." When the language of the earth wasconfused, anomie was produced.. When the workers and foremen could nolonger communicate, and the Tower was destroyed, the members of society hadnothing to bind them together, excepting their humanity. Robert Merton, in hisanalysis of "social structure and anomie," was of the opinion that socialstructures do two fundamental things: define goals, and enforce ways ofachieving them. He also opined that "in a society where there is tremendousemphasis on the goals without emphasis on institutional procedures, Durkheim'sstate of anomie is produced.2 When the condition of anomie set in, Nimrod'speople no longer had a common identity. What initially gave the Mesopotamianstheir common identity? Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's study of the principles of historicaldevelopment brought much insight to the subject. He believed that: "Changes inthe natural world, no matter how great their variety, exhibit only an eternallyrecurring cycle. . .man displays a real capacity for change, and, as alreadyremarked, for progress towards a better and more perfect condition -- in short, hepossesses an impulse of perfectibility."3Michael Oakeshott brilliantly represents mankind's incentive for perfectionwith a fabrication of Nimrod's speech to the people, announcing their quest for astairway to the heavens. "We are surrounded by enemies and the mostthreatening of these is this God with whom Abraham is in league. . . so that wemay never again be destroyed by a deluge from heaven, let us build a tower solofty that it will out-top any flood, so strong it will resist any earthquake, soincombustible that lightning cannot...
