Robert K. Merton

1
Robert K. Merton

• Strain Theory
• Individual Level
• Gap between economic aspirations (which all are
  encouraged to pursue) and structural reality
  (limited opportunity)
• Policy Implications?
• Increase opportunity for lower class youth
• Mobilization for Youth Program

2
MERTON II

• Culture
• THE American Dream mentality
• Social Structure
• Unequal distribution of means for achieving the
  American Dream
• Problems?
• Preoccupied with Lower Class
• Addresses only Economic Crimes
• Everyone focused on the MICRO level theory

3
Messner and Rosenfeld (1995)

• CRIME AND THE AMERICAN DREAM
• The Road not Taken
• Focus on Anomie at Macro level
• Why is U.S. so crime-prone?
• Culture American Dream
• Social Structure more than

4
The Culture Elements of the American Dream

• Achievement
• Individualism
• Universalism
• The fetishism of money
• These elements encourage Anomic conditions

5
THE AMERICAN DREAM PRODUCES ANOMIE

• MERTON Pursuit of financial success is limited
  only by considerations of technical expediency.
• Lombardi Winning isnt everything, its the
  only thing.

6
Social Structure More than Distribution of Wealth

• Social institutions as the building blocks of
  society (make up social structure).
• Functions?
• Allow us to adapt to the environment
• Mobilize and deploy resources to achieve
  collective goals
• Socialize members to accept societys normative
  patterns

7
Institutions in U.S.?

• The Economy
• The Polity
• The Family
• Education

8
Key Issue for M R

• These institutions sometimes have conflicting
  goals and values.
• All societies can therefore be characterized by
  their distinctive arrangements of institutions
• The U.S.? Economy Dominates we are a MARKET
  SOCIETY

9
The Market Society as a play on words

• A capitalist economy is referred to as a free
  market or market economy.
• The term market society suggests that the
  entire society is dominated by the free market
  economy.

10
Indicators of Economic Dominance or a Market
Society

• Devaluation of non-economic institutional
  functions and roles
• Accommodation to economic requirements by other
  social institutions
• Penetration of economic norms into other social
  domains

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Implications of Economic Dominance

• Weak institutional controls
• Family and School are handicapped in efforts to
  promote allegiance to social rules
• Single parent families
• Poorly funded schools
• Weak institutions invite challenge

12
Culture, Social Structure, and Crime Rates
CULTURE The American
Dream ANOMIE
SOCIAL STRUCTURE Economic Dominance Weak
Institutional Controls
HIGH CRIME RATES
13
Empirical Validity of IA theory

• New theory--only 2 good tests thus far
• Both support IA, but have limitations
• Chamlin and Cochran
• State level variations in non-economic
  institutions modify the effect of poverty on
  economic crimes
• Messner and Roesnfeld
• The decommodification index across countries
  predicts homicide rates

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Policy Implications of IA

• The two main causes of crime are
• American Dream ethos (cultural)
• Economic Dominance of other institutions
  (structural)
• Change money fetish?
• Time for America to grow up
• Push culture towards valuing spousing,
  parenting
• Strengthen non-economic institutions?
• Family, School...

15
EXAM I IMPENDING DOOM

• Concern few assignments thus far
• Format Short Answer Essay
• More than Describe Mertons theory
• For Each Theory
• Central Concepts (and how they relate)
• Empirical status (and how you might measure
  concepts)
• Criticisms
• Policy Implications