Durkheim's Functionalist Theory

• Functionalist Methods of Achieving Social Solidarity

  Socialisation- instills shared culture, ensuring members internalise the same norms and values, and act in the required manners.

  Social Control- mechanisms including rewards for conformity, and punishments for deviance which ensure individuals behave in an expected way.
• Durkheim: The Inevitability of Crime

  See too much crime as destabilising society, but see crime as inevitable and universal. Every known society has some level of crime and deviance. "Crime is normal... an integral part of all healthy societies".
• Why are crime and deviance found in all societies?

  Not everyone is equally effectively socialised into the shared norms and values, so some are prone to deviate.

  In particularly complex modern societies, there is diversity of lifestyles and values. Different groups develop their own subcultures with distinctive norms and values which they regard as normal but mainstream culture could see as deviant.
• Durkheim: Anomie

  Modern societies are moving towards anomie/normlessness (the rules governing behaviour become weaker). Due to the complex, specialised divisions of labour which lead to individuals becoming increasingly different from each other. Weakening the collective conscience, and causing higher levels of deviance.
• Durkheim: The Positive Functions of Crime

  Boundary Maintenance- crime produces a societal reaction, uniting members in condemnation which reinforces their shared norms and values. Explaining the function of punishment, it isn't to make the wrongdoer suffer, but to reaffirm societies shared rules and reinforce social solidarity. Seen through rituals in the courtroom which dramatise wrongdoing and publicly stigmatise the offender- discouraging others from offending. Cohen: 'dramatisation of evil' in the media through 'folk devils'.
• Durkheim: The Positive Functions of Crime

  Adaption & Change- all change starts with an act of deviance; individuals with new ideas mustn't be limited to the weight of social control. There must be some scope for challenging the existing norms, and initially this will be seen as deviance though in the long-term their values may give rise to a new culture and morality. Though if these individuals are suppressed, society will stagnate and be unable to make adaptive change, there is then an optimal level of crime avoiding a loss of social solidarity, but allowing individual freedom.
• Other Functions of Crime:

  Davis argues that prostitution acts as a safety valve for the release of men's frustrations without threatening the monogamous nuclear family. Similarly, Polsky argues that pornography safely channels sexual desires way from alternatives such as adultery, which pose a greater threat to the family.
• Other Functions of Crime:

  Cohen claims it acts as a warning for an institution which isn't functioning correctly. E.g. high rates of truancy can indicate problems with the education system, and suggest to policy-makers that changes need to be made within this sector.
• Other Functions of Crime:

  Erikson argues that as deviance performs positive social functions, it means that perhaps society is organised to promote deviance. Suggesting that the true function of agencies of control is to sustain a certain level of crime, rather than remove it completely. (This theory is further developed by labelling theorists).
• The Positive Functions of Crime: Criticisms

  Functionalism looks at the functions deviance performs for society as a whole, and ignores how it might affect different groups or individuals within society. For example, prostitution may be 'functional' as a safety valve for men's sexual frustrations, but it isn't functional for those who are illegally trafficked sex workers. The theory then fails to ask who deviance is functional for.
• The Positive Functions of Crime: Criticisms

  Crime doesn't always promote solidarity. It can have the opposite effect, leading to people becoming more isolated. E.g. forcing women to stay indoors for fear of an attack. Though some crimes do reinforce collective sentiments, like uniting the community in condemnation for a brutal attack.