Cloward and Ohlin

• What do Cloward and Ohlin argue about different subcultures and their reactions to failure?

  • Different subcultures react differently to failure to succeed through legitimate means.
  • Reactions depend on unequal access to illegitimate opportunity structures.
• What happens when individuals fail to achieve success legitimately according to Cloward and Ohlin?


  They may not have the illegitimate means to succeed, such as knowledge of crime or connections.
• How does the neighbourhood influence access to illegitimate opportunity structures according to Cloward and Ohlin?

  • Criminal subculture: Stable working-class areas with developed criminal culture.
  • Conflict subculture: Areas with high population turnover and no established criminal subculture.
  • Retreatist subculture: Among double failures focusing on drug abuse and alcoholism.
• What characterizes a criminal subculture according to Cloward and Ohlin?

  It exists in stable working-class areas where status is gained through gang membership and crime for financial gain.
• What activities are associated with a conflict subculture?

  Anti-social behavior such as vandalism and fighting.
• Who does the retreatist subculture consist of according to Cloward and Ohlin?

  Individuals who have failed both legitimately and illegitimately, focusing on drug abuse and alcoholism.
• What are the focal concerns of working-class boys according to Miller?

  • Values of freedom and excitement.
  • Being in trouble and being tough.
  • Desire to be 'streetwise'.
• How do the values of working-class boys differ from those of middle-class youths?

  Working-class boys prioritize values like freedom and excitement over middle-class values.
• What are some criticisms of Cloward and Ohlin's theory?

  Strengths:

  • Adds to Cohen’s theory by explaining different types of working-class deviance.

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Ignores crimes of the wealthy.
  • Assumes crime is solely a working-class phenomenon.
  • Overlooks overlap between subcultures and female crime.