Crime : Merton

• Merton criticised other Functionalists' work, who suggest that all institutions are inherently good for society. Merton emphasizes the existence of dysfunctions. He thinks that some structures in society may have consequences that are generally dysfunctional, or they may be dysfunctional for some and functional for others. Some parts of the social structure do not work as intended, with negative or harmful consequences for society.
• Merton argued that aspirations (goals/desires) were socially produced, and that his theory of deviance was not an attempt to explain all deviance, in all societies, but rather to explain the presence and character of crime and deviance in American society.
• Merton argued that there was a 'strain' or conflict between the 'cultural goals' of American society, and the 'opportunities', or 'means' to achieve these goals in the social structure.
• For American's their shared goal is to achieve the American Dream. To gain status through the American Dream its members need to gain wealth and possessions. Anyone, regardless of their starting place in society, can end up owning a Cadillac and a Beverley Hill's mansion; the cultural emphasis is on a universal strive for success.
• Legitimate ways of achieving these goals are through hard work, educational qualifications, talent, drive, determination and ambition. This is achievable if society is meritocratic.
• Merton recognised that not everybody sets off from the same starting place, society is structured to have people at the top, middle and bottom (think about class, gender, age, ethnicity), therefore making it impossible for everyone to have true value consensus. Merton believed that the goal of wealth and possessions stayed the same but merely scaled down depending on the position the member was starting from.
• Merton believed that deviance occurred when members could not reach their aspired goals through legitimate means. The strain occurs when socially acceptable goals cannot be met through socially acceptable means. If the majority of people cannot achieve their goals, then they become disenchanted and seek out other ways - creating anomie.
• Conformity

  same goals as society

  legitimate means
• Innovation

  same goals as society

  illegitimate means
• Ritualism

  no goals / different goals in society

  legitimate means
• Retreatism

  different goals as society

  illegitimate means
• Rebellion

  rejection of goals and means - creates their own
• Merton states that only by recognizing the dysfunctional aspects of institutions, can we explain the development and persistence of alternatives. Merton suggests that there are manifest and latent functions.
• Manifest functions are the consequences that people observe or expect, latent functions are those that are neither recognised nor intended. While Parsons tends to emphasise the manifest functions of social behaviour, Merton sees attention to latent functions as increasing the understanding of society.
• Dysfunctions can also be manifest or latent. Manifest dysfunctions include traffic jams, closed streets, piles of garbage, and a shortage of clean public toilets. Latent dysfunctions might include people missing work after the event to recover.