From the Rules of Sociological Method - Durkheim Selections

Laws are objective. Many duties are prescribed, received and not created. We rarely need to consult the code and its interpreters to know the details of obligations. Religious practices exist outside the practitioner. Social systems function independently of the individual use. There are ways of acting, thinking and feeling outside the consciousness of the individual.

All these types of behavior and thinking are external to the individual but they force themselves on him. If we try to resist, it is in their nature to force itself. If we try to violate the laws then they prevent our actions if there is time or they cancel it. If the action is accomplished they reverse it and if it is irreparable they cause us to pay the fine. If we don’t follow the ordinary conventions then we are kept at a social distance. We are not forced to speak French and use legal currency but it is impossible to do otherwise. We will fail miserably if we try to escape the necessity. If we break this rules, we are forced to fight against them and each innovator has to encounter such opposition.

There is a category of facts consisting of the manners of acting and thinking which constitute a new species. They cannot be confused with phenomena as they are representations.

No social fact can exist without a well-established social organization. Social currents possess objectivity over the individual. The waves of enthusiasm, indignation and pity produced in a public gathering come to each of us and can sweep us along. We may not be conscious about the pressure generated by them until we attempt to struggle against them.

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Society has compelling and coercive powers. Coercion asserts itself the moment an individual breaks the law. Rules try to prevent their own violation or force a correction or force a payment of penalty if it is irreparable. Infringing moral rules are punished by public outcry or indirectly through social criticism and satire. If you don't conform to social conventions you are kept at a social distance. The use of society's language, financial system is a form of coercion. The externality of rules will make us fail miserably if we don't follow the necessity.