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Functionalism & Crime - Coggle Diagram
Functionalism & Crime
Traditional Functionalism
Durkheim
is concerned with three things:
The inevitability and ‘normality’ of crime resulting from improper socialization.
How crime/ deviance can play a positive role/function for society.
How it is important to have a balance in society between normal and deviant behavior
Key Idea 2:
Crime is in all known societies, so it is an inevitable and normal aspects of social life.
. Britain, America, China, Iran, etc
He claimed that if it exists as an institution it must serve a postitive function.
CRIME OF THEREFORE FUNCTIONAL
What are the positive functions of crime/ deviance?
Marking the extremes of behavioral/ setting boundaries.
As a publicity function/ reminding us of the consensus
To strengthen the bond/ reinforce the consensus
To act as a warning device to indicate that an aspect of society is malfunctioning.
To produce social change
To provide a safety valve
Analysis
Durkheim believed that crime is not only inevitable but functional
. As it helps meet a number of societies needs by bringing people together and enforcing a collective consciousness.
Evaluation
. This overlooks the negative impact crime can have such as destroying the lives of its victims.
. Conflict theorists question the assumption that a collective conscience exists in the first place which can be reinforces through the commission of crime.
Key Idea 3:
The collective conscience can fail especially at periods of great social strain and dramatic change.
. E.g. War, depression, recession, political upheaval
Periods of anomie can occur when rules are less clear-cut and can result in far too much crime and threatens the stability of society.
. E.g. war is often seen as a period of normlessness and the amount of crime tends to increase.
It is important that agents of the social control function limit the amount of crime that exists in society.
. E.g. police, family, media, education
BUT
If there is too much control there are not enough challenges to the status quo.
Not enough people break the norms, which generates social change, and causes society becomes stagnant.
Analysis
According to Durkheim, the amount of crime in society is significant.
. As too much crime threatens stability and can lead to anomie.
BUT
. Too little crime and society stagnates.
Evaluation
Durkheim does have a weakness in his analysis here though as his work lacks clarity on exactly how much crime in the ‘right amount’ and how much is ‘too much’. In other words, he is vague on the detail.
Key Idea 1:
Society works best as a value consensus, which helps to maintain social solidarity.
. This is achieved through socialization and social control.
Crime is inevitable and universal because people will not always be properly socialized in modern, complex societies.
. Subcultures might emerge with alternative values and beliefs.
THIS MEANS THE CAUSE OF CRIME ACCORDING TO DURKHEIM IS IMPROPER SOCIALISATION, AS IT IS INEVITABLE THAT NOT EVERYONE WILL BE SOCIALISED INTO THE VALUE CONSENSUS AND SO WILL BREAK SOCIAL NORMS.
Evaluation
. Marxists - we are socialized into bourgeoise ideology.
. Feminists - we are socialized into the patriarchy.
Durkheim's ideas were then picked up later and developed by:
Polsky
- who argues prostitution and pornography acts as outlets for male sexuality which might otherwise manifest itself as divorce or adultery.
Erikson
- some deviance is inevitable and has to happen.
E.g. to keep the police in a job and also helps some, especially the young, to let off steam and deal with the strain in their lives. He claims that some misbehavior is managed and regulated, like rag weeks, carnival as a way to ensure people ‘let off steam’.
Evaluations
General: He doesn't say how much is too much!
Marxists/ Feminists:
. Durkheim overstates the extent to which a consensus exists and ignores the concept of power.
. He fails to acknowledge that in society certain groups have the power to control the law and make the rules.
. He doesn’t question whether the consensus is actually the ideology of the powerful group, enforced on the weaker group.
New Right
. He is quite vague about ‘improper socialization’ as a
cause of crime.
. He doesn’t explain fully why certain people such as men and the WC are more likely to commit crimes than others.
. Is it because some groups (such as the underclass) are likely to be properly socialized?
Postmodernism
. Functionalism is out of date - the world is far more complex now and a value consensus no longer exists in any society.
. Crime crosses boundaries and occurs on a global scale. It ignores cultural differences and differences in national laws.
Merton and strain theory (1938)
- claimed that deviance occurs when people cannot achieve the goals of society by the legitimate means available to them.
Merton based his research on 1930’s American society.
Suggested that societies have shared goals (value consensus) that they encourage their members to achieve.
Most members of that society try and meet this goal through legitimate (legal) means.
Goals: for American, their shared goal is to achieve the American Dream
I.e. to gain wealth and possessions.
. The dream claims that anyone regardless of their starting place in society can end up owning a Cadillac and a Beverley Hill's mansion.
Means: the legitimate ways of achieving these goals are through hard work, educational qualifications, talent, drive, determination and ambition.
. However, not everyone has access to a great job or great education (the legitimate means by which to achieve the shared goals).
THIS CAUSES STRAIN
Criticisms of Functionalist theories
Subcultural Functionalism
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