Merton

what did Merton’s theory attempt to explain?

the high levels of crime committed by those at the bottom of the socio-economic hierarchy in the USA in the post-depression period of the 1930s

the source of crime

the source of crime lies in the relationship between the culture and the social structure of American society

the ‘American Dream’

value consensus → encouraged by family, education and the mass media to believe in meritocracy in the USA → rewarded in the form of material success

issue with the American Dream

doesn’t align with the social structure → not everyone can access the institutional means that are needed to achieve the cultural goal → means not fairly distributed → blocked opportunities → anomie

anomie

the feeling of alienation and frustration by one’s failure to achieve their aspirations and as a result become morally confused

responses to blocked opportunities

(1) conformity

(2) innovation

(3) ritualism

(4) retreatism

(5) rebellion

conformity

- accepting their lot
- continue to do their best and make the most of what society offers them
- goal + means of achieving

innovation

- remain committed to the cultural goal of material success but their commitment to the legitimate means of achieving it weakens
- goal not means

ritualism

- lose site of the goal of material success but continues to carry on with the means used to achieving goals
- meaningless jobs, work hard but never focus on what they’re trying to achieve
- often obsessed with the rituals and regulations which underpin their jobs

retreatism

- drop out of conventional society and consequently reject both the cultural goal of material success as well as the means to achieve them
- often adopt behaviour which is disapproved of by society → drug addiction, alcoholism, vagrancy

rebellion

- seek to replace the cultural goal of material success with an alternative
- some of these revolutionaries may adopt violent means to achieve their new goal

Merton’s conclusion as to why crime is committed by wc

- as a reaction to the social organisation of capitalist societies
- conformity to the dominant value system
- criminals are actually very similar to non-criminals in that they’re both shaped by the same desires and goals, i.e. to achieve material success

briefly explain the difference between utilitarian and non-utilitarian crime

utilitarian crime is committed to gain money whereas non-utilitarian crime is not. non-utilitarian crime can be committed just for fun.