PFP 150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Émile Durkheim, Anomie, Ritualism In The Church Of England
Document Summary
Strain theory argues that all members of subscribing to one set of cultural values- that of the middle-class. One important middles-class value is an economic success. Society is structured in such a way to restrict access to the legitimate mean of achieving middles class goals - some people will then turn to illegitimate means in desperation. Structural-functionalist perspective was developed by emile durkheim. The breakdown of social order as a result of the loss of standards and values and, normlessness. Durkin believed that rapid social change caused crime. Structural-functionalism accepts that a certain amount of deviance and crime is. Deviance and crime are necessary to define the boundaries of acceptable behaviour. Punishment of deviants confirms the moral boundaries of society and reaffirms conventional norms and values. Merton also related the crime problem to anomie but did not focus on the role of social change.
