Anomie

1
Anomie
2
Emile Durkheim

• Modern society
• "normlessness" (a-nomos)
• Deviance Poorly articulated or non-existent
  rules of conduct
• human nature innately desirous
• society must set limits

3
Durkheim Suicide

• Relationship between social structure deviance
• Egoistic
• Western societies
• Individualism
• Altruistic
• Self is unimportant vis-à-vis society
• Fatalistic
• Slavery

4
Durkheim Suicide

• Anomic
• Weak collective conscience
• Rapid social/status change
• Modernity (again) nearly-permanent state of
  normlessness
• division of labor
• separation of home and workplace
• decline of guild, church
• individualism

5
Robert Mertons Anomie

• NOT normlessness
• unlimited aspiration
• Strain
• cultural definitions of success
• legitimate means of achieving success

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Mertons Anomie
Culturally Approved Goals Legitimate Means
Conformity
Innovation _
Ritualism _
Retreatism _ _
Rebellion /_ /_
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Richard Cloward Lloyd Ohlin

• Delinquency Opportunity
• Illegitimate means can be blocked
• Subcultures
• Criminal
• Conflict
• Retreatist
• Double failure

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Social Control in Anomie

• Durkheim Return to Moral Order
• Create a secular moral order
• Voluntary and occupational associations
• Educational Institutions

9
Social Control in Anomie

• Merton Two Options
• Reduce Aspiration
• Increase access to legitimate means of success
• Mobilization for Youth (1960's Cloward and Ohlin)

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Evaluating Anomie

• Strengths
• Empirical support
• Merton
• Beyond individualistic explanations
• Weaknesses
• Ignored white collar crime
• Over-emphasizes consensus
• limited definition of success
• Is all crime and deviance economically motivated?