FUNCTIONALIST- ANOMIE (merton)

• Robert Merton

  • Structural theory
  • Argued that society's culture will shape peoples goals
  • Majority of society share same goals "the American Dream"
  • American Dream- hard work= success and wealth e.g big car and house, perfect family
• Cultural goals

  • deviance results from culture
  • Merton argued that each culture has societal goals.
  • He used the "American Dream" as an example for American society
  • In this view, people are taught that hard work in school and at jobs leads to financial success
• Strain

  • different positions in society so lack opportunities to achive the shared goals e.g social-class
  • For example, many working-class individuals may not have access to higher education needed for high-paying jobs.
  • This creates a strain between society's promoted goals and individuals' ability to achieve them
  • American society was unbalanced because greater importance was placed to success than to the way success is achieved
• Anomie

  • The inability to achieve societal goals creates a strain, leading to anomie (a state of "normlessness").
  • In anomie, traditional norms break down, and people may resort to any means to reach societal goals.
  • This can lead to illegitimate behaviors, like drug dealing, as a way to achieve financial success.
  • The London riots are an example of this phenomenon in action
• Merton’s 5 ways that individuals respond to the goals of success in society

  1. Conformity
  2. Innovation
  3. Ritualism
  4. Retreatism
  5. Rebellion
• Conformity

  • Describes individuals aiming for success through accepted, conventional means
  • Methods include obtaining educational qualifications for stable, well-paid jobs.
  • Other traditional paths to success include talent, hard work, and ambition
  • THERFORE FOLLOW THE RULES e.g middle classes
• Innovation

  • refers to individuals who cannot achieve success through conventional routes and resort to deviant means, often involving crime
  • Merton believed this approach is commonly taken by individuals from lower levels of society
  • These individuals are often denied access to traditional paths to success because they are less likely to gain the necessary educational qualifications
  • FIND OTHER WAYS OF REACHING GOALS (illegitimate ways) e.g working class
• Ritualism

  • where middle-class individuals are deviant because they abandon conventional success goals.
  • They are unable to innovate due to strong socialization to conform.
  • These individuals often have limited opportunities for advancement.
  • They remain in low-paid, low-status "respectable" jobs, showing enthusiasm for rules and petty bureaucracy
  • FOLLOW RULES EVEN THOUGH THEY KNOW THEY CANT GAIN THE GOAL e.g working class
• Retreatism,

  • where individuals from any social class who are deviant because they abandon both success goals and means to achieve them.
  • These individuals "drop out" of society.
  • This response can explain the behavior of social outcasts, including vagrants and drug addicts.
  • Cant reach the goals so reject them
• Rebellion

  • where individuals reject both success goals and conventional means of achieving them.
  • They replace rejected goals and means with new ones.
  • These individuals are considered deviant as they aim to create a new society.
  • According to Merton, they are often members of a "rising" social class who may attempt to organize a revolution
  • Want to replace the goals e.g Marxists or terrorists
• Criticisms

  • Merton has been criticized for not considering power relations in society, such as who makes the laws and who benefits from them.
  • Critics argue against his assumption of a universal "value consensus" in American society.
  • His deterministic view is seen as inadequate in explaining why only some individuals experiencing anomie become criminals.
  • Merton's theory is said to exaggerate working-class crime while underestimating middle-class "white-collar" crime
  • Theory only focuses on utilitarian crime