Soziologie der Freundschaft

The article argues that nowadays research on friendship has reached a dead end. The only thing everyone in the field agrees on is: “friendship matters”. But how and what for is completely contingent, conceptionally as well as methodically. Alternatively the paper argues that the phenomenon of friendship becomes clearer when looked at under four functional aspects: first as a compensating practice of care for those who can’t trust in family bonds nor in welfare contracts; second as an intermediate social form that lasts longer than membership and partnership alike; third as a mirror of lifelong socialization of the self; and forth as a diffuse resource of organization and association. All aspects concern the enigma of voluntary bonds in a society of individuals.