Durkheim's functionalist theory

How does Durkheim and functionalist overall see crime in society?

They see it as inevitable and universal. Durkheim argues ‘crime is normal… an integral - part of all healthy societies).

What are at least 2 reason why crime and deviance are found in all societies?

1. Not everyone is equally effectively socialised into the shared norms and values of that current society.

2. The diversity of lifestyles and values. Different groups develop their own subcultures with distinctive norms and values, and what the members of the subculture may regard as normal may be deviant and criminal.

What is anomie/normlessness and what can this lead to?

A state where societal norms, values, and moral break down, leaving individuals feeling disconnected, confused, and uncertain how to act, often due to rapid social change.

This weakens shared cultures and collective conscience. Durkheim argued anomie is a cause of suicide.

What are Durkheim’s two important roles of crime?

1. boundary maintenance:

This is when society responds to crime in a way that reinforces shared norms and values and strengthens social solidarity. Durkheim claims punishment does not exist to reform the criminal or eliminate crime, but to reaffirm society’s shared rules and solidarity.

2. Adaption and change

Social change starts as deviance. When individuals develop new ideas, values, or ways of living, these will usually go against existing norms, because they challenge what society currently accepts.

social control should not be so strong that it crushes individuality. If people with new ideas are completely silenced, society cannot evolve.

Although authorities may persecute or punish those with new ideas at first, over time those ideas may become accepted.

Crime is inevitable and normal, but the level of crime matters

What does Davis and Plosky argue?

Davis argues that prostitution acts as a safety valve for the release of men’s sexual frustrations without threatening the monogamous nuclear family.

Plosky argues that pornography safely ‘channels’ a variety of sexual desires away from alternatives such as adultery, which would pose a much greater threat on the nuclear family.

What did Erikson argue about deviance?

That of deviance is often performing positive functions for society then society is probably organised and the agencies of social control such as the police may be actually sustaining a certain level of crime rather than getting rid of it.

Criticisms of a functionalist approach to deviance

• Durkheim argues society need a certain level of deviance for it to function but does not clarify how much is enough

• Functionalists explain the reasoning of crime by its future function it performs which is social solidarity. But crime does not exist to eventually create social solidarity.

• Functionalists argue crime is good for society as it creates social solidarity but ignores how it may affect the victim

• Crime does not always lead to promoting social solidarity, may have the opposite effect leading people to be more isolated and in fear.