Durkheim

Durkheim’s view of society:

• Organic change- Society continues to evolve from pre-industrial to industrial society

• Growth of urbanisation and industrialisation has led to social mechanical solidarity

• Experiences of modern life have impacted the cohesion of society - led to the development of anomie - drifting away from the norms and values of society

Durkheim’s functions of deviance:

• Durkheim suggested that crime is a normal part of a healthy society and performs a function for society

• The optimal amount of crime for society to function - is too much and society would begin to atrophy - too little and it would stagnate

• Crime performs both positive and negative functions for society would begin to atrophy - too little and it would stagnate

• Crime performs both positive and negative functions for society

Boundary maintenance:

• Criminal and deviant behaviour helps to reinforce the value consensus of society

• Some behaviours help to reinforce people’s belief in the collective conscience - Society’s moral code

• Society unites to condemn the wrong-doers and this leads to a collective agreement that the behaviour is wrong and should not be repeated

Examples of boundary maintenance:

• Public reactions to terrorist activities - such as terrorism in London and Manchester bombings

• Society condemns the actions of terrorism and vows to ‘not let them win’

• Riots of 2011 - public condemnation of the behaviour of rioting and looting

• People support harsh measures taken against looters and this reinforces collective conscience

Adaption and Change:

• Deviant behaviours demonstrate a changing attitude of the population to the established way of doing things

• As small groups deviate, others in society will accept these behaviours as the norms

• As the behaviours become the norm for more people, they cease to be deviant and society accepts the change

Examples of social change as a result of deviant behaviour:

• Civil rights movements began with protests and sit-ins in white-only establishments

• Gay rights movements accelerated after the Stonewall riots and the women’s liberation movement used unconventional means to push for equality

• Removal of Edward Coulston statue symbol of the Black Lives Matter campaign and subsequent removal of other figures associated with slavery

Evaluation of Durkheim:

• Contemporary examples illustrate the legacy of Durkheim’s view of the impacts of crime on society

• It’s difficult to measure the ‘optimal amount’ of crime that can exist in a society

• In contemporary society, has deviance led to social changes or have other social institutions acted to nullify movements? E.g climate change protests and Black Lives Matter protests in the USA