SOC208H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Anomie, White-Collar Crime
Document Summary
Modern societies create strains on people by emphasizing cultural goals but also limiting access to social institutions. Crime becomes concentrated on those with limited access i. e. merlon"s strain theory. Conformity: accept both cultural goals and institutionalized means to achieve them - when people accept the goals and accept the means. Ritualism: conform to society"s norm but no expectation to achieve goals ( reject goals / accept means) Rebelling: go against cultureal goals they feel unable to achieve ( new goals / new means) Innovation: attaining goals of success through illegitimate means (accept goals / reject means) merton believed this was natural. Retreatism: individuals who after internalizing cultural goals, find them unobtainable ( reject goals, reject means) internalized pressures that stop them from committing crime and often retreat from society i. e. drugs, suicide. Not everybody posses the means to achieve corporate goals. Normalization byproduct of one"s environment where others are also breaking the rules.
