SOC212H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Urban Decay, High Crime, Differential Association
Document Summary
There are three branches to the social structure theories: Strain / social disorganization / cultural deviance theory. Crime is necessary; it is bound up with the fundamental conditions of all social life, and by that (1) a society exempt from it is impossible. If anything, it crime would only change its form but not disappear. very fact it is useful it is bound up with the normal evolution of morality and law. Law and morality vary from one society to the next. Crime paves a way open for more thinking and changes. A criminal is a normal guy; part of society; he is not totally unsociable. Crime is not pathological, nor a disease. When crime drops below normal, we have some social disorder. Collective consciousness is important; even in a society full of saints, you would have crime. Given heredity, social influences, consciousness, and physical position, it is impossible to get rid of crime and have a fully collective conscience.
