WMChapter6Outline.pdf

W&M Chapter 6: Anomie Theory

1. Introduction
a. Anomie is associated with both Emile Durkheim and Robert Merton
b. Durkheim

i. Division of labor in society – describes a condition of “deregulation”
occurring in society.

1. The general rules of a society (the rules that say how people
ought to behave to one another) have broken down and that
people do not know what to expect from each other. This
deregulation/normlessness leads to deviance.

2. Central thesis in Division of Labor in Society was that societies
evolved from a simple, nonspecialized form (mechanical) toward a
more complex highly specialized form (organic)

a. Under mechanical solidarity, people think and act the
same. They do similar labor, work on group goal-oriented
tasks. However, as societies modernize, labor and relations
change (e.g., the change from a hunter gather society to a
more developed society).

b. Organic societies (modern societies) are characterized by
highly interactive relationships in which people specialize
in labor and goals. People depend on each other to
produce various items/services, but not all of these are
equal and the types of relationships between people are
not equal. Thus, Durkheim sees these societies are
contractual – people are no longer bonded by blood or
friendship, but rather because of contractual bonds that
can constantly change or dissolve.

i. Problem with these societies is that bonds are
continually broken.

1. Thus, the rules governing people and
relations between them are continually in
flux, social conditions are constantly in
danger of disruption, and when disruption
occurs, we have anomie.

c. Anomie refers to the breakdown of norms and a condition
in which norms no longer control the societal activity of
members. Without clear rules to guide them, individuals
cannot find their place in society and have difficulty
dealing with changing conditions of life.

ii. Suicide – uses anomie to refer to a morally deregulated condition in
which people have inadequate moral controls over their behavior.

a. A society that is anomic may have people who do not
know when to quit striving for success or how to treat
other people along the way.

iii. Regardless of Durkheim’s use, anomie is a breakdown in either the rules
of society or the moral norms – Durkheim was referring to a break down
in/disruption of normal social conditions.

iv. Durkheim saw economic crises, forced industrialization, and
commercialization as factors producing anomie, and Durkheim believed
that Western societies had reached a point of complexity that left them
in constant anomic states. Even in these constant states though, periods
of social disruption, like war or economic depression, would make
matters worse and result in greater anomie and more crime/deviance.

c. Merton (1938)
i. Merton did not think that changes and deregulation created anomie, but

the inability of the social system to exercise control in the form of social
norms.

1. Merton saw social norms (or values) coming in two forms: societal
goals and legitimate means. Anomie is the disjuncture between
societal goals and means because of how society is structured
(i.e., there is not equal access).

a. Deviance can be seen as a symptom of social structure in
which goals and means are separated. Thus, deviance is a
product of anomie.

2. Merton was focused on social structure and cultural disparities
and how these created anomie. Thus, anomie is a permeant
feature of the social structures of a society.

2. The Heritage of the theory
a. The social heritage

i. Merton did not see crime as an intrinsic part of a person – rejects the
individualistic view of pathology.

ii. Durkheim drew on the Great Depression and sociological insights of the
time.

1. Durkheim believed that society coming out of the Great
Depression was in a state of deregulation.

a. Ecological data and work from the Chicago school
supported this idea – that is that certain segments of a
society were in a constant state of deregulation.

b. The intellectual heritage
i. Durkheim

1. Drew on Sorokin’s idea on “anomic suicide.”
2. Talcott Parsons ideas on structural functionalism.
3. George Simpson
4. Two strains of psychological/biological positivism – Freudian

psychotherapy and Hooton’s ideas on biological criminals.

ii. Merton
1. Obvious Marxist influence via the American dream and the

capitalist system.
2. Sutherland’s differential association theory is seen as a

complementary theory – anomie was a way to explain the
structural components of deviance from differential association.

3. The theoretical perspective
a. Merton

i. A theory of deviance that does not focus on criminality.
ii. General focus on deviance

1. Emphasizes well-structured goals for its members and equally
structured avenues to reach those goals. Deviance becomes any
behavior that does not follow accepted values.

iii. Merton explains that certain goals are emphasized throughout society, as
well as certain acceptable means (legitimate) to achieve those goals.

1. When goals are too strongly stressed, anomie is more likely,
because not every has equal access to legitimate means, and
people will search for alternative ways of achieving the same
goals.

a. Because of the way in which society is structured, certain
groups have more access to the means with which to
achieve. Thus, inequality exists because of the way society
is structured, even though the goals are said to apply to
all.

iv. The U.S. is in a constant state of anomie. There is unequal access to
achievement, but there are agreed upon goals, and people are faced with
constant strain because they have to reconcile their aspirations with their
limited opportunities.

v. Legitimate means are not always that most efficient method of reaching
goals.

vi. Success of goals themselves are not necessarily applicable to all social
classes at the same time, and each class may have its own version of
goals/success, but there are cultural message about what upward
striving/mobility look like that are shared – the emphasis on reaching the
goals is what is important.

1. According to Merton, Sutherland’s definition from differential
association can be interpreted as values related to legal/illegal
means. Thus, at the neighborhood level, the presence of values
conducive to delinquency or crime essentially tells those who
believe there that legitimate opportunities are scarce and
encourage illegal means to reach goals. Conversely, conventional
values in the neighborhood support legitimate means.

b. The modes of adaptation

i. Merton presents five modes of adapting to strain caused by restricted
access the socially approved goals and means.

1. Conformity (most people) – accept both the means and the goals.
These people perpetuate the existence of society.

2. Innovation (most common of deviant adaptations) – accept the
goals but come up with new means (deviant but may/may not be
illegal).

3. Ritualism – accept the means but reject the goals. These people
buy into the shared goals/signs of success but don’t care/aren’t
invested in the process of achieving them. So, this would be
someone who works in an office job that pays well and does not
care about the job/wanting to advance in their career.

4. Retreatists – reject both the goals and the means.
5. Rebels – come up with new goals and new means. These may be

able to alter the social structure.
ii. Merton’s theory explains how social structure contributes the creation of

deviance at all levels. However, the lower class is most likely to be
deviant or adapt with non-legitimate ways of achieving success, because
of how society is structured.

1. Real conformity would be found in those individuals for whom
there is no problem in accessing the means for achieving goals:
primarily the rich and elite.

2. It is in the interest of those for whom the social structure works
best (the real conformists) to keep a large share of the population
believing in the system and with some small degree of access to
legitimate means.

3. Merton believed that the increasing degree of deviance
precipitated by a class-structured anomic society would,
ultimately, result in a feedback effect. This effect would
essentially subvert the original norms justifying the institutionally
approved means resulting in more anomie and more deviance.

4. Classification of the theory
a. Positivist theory – locates pathology within the social structure.

i. The undue emphasis on goals in society without access to avenues for
success for all serves to create a strain in certain segments of society,
and, ultimately, a push toward deviance.

b. Consensus theory – believes that there is an agreement on what society values.
i. Society imposes on us right/wrong and there are agreed upon general

goals.
c. Structural theory – focuses on the way in which society is structured and how

structure serves to create deviance.
d. Macrotheory – Merton wants to explain variations in rates of deviance across

society.

e. Functionalist – Merton uses the concepts of cultural goals and norms to explain
how they serve to produce both conformity and deviance within the social
structure.