Robert K. Merton “Strain Theory”

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

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

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 $

The Culture: Elements of the “American Dream”

• Achievement

• Individualism

• Universalism

• The “fetishism” of money

• These elements encourage “Anomic conditions”

THE AMERICAN DREAM PRODUCES ANOMIE

• MERTON: Pursuit of financial success is “limited only by considerations of technical expediency.”

• Lombardi: Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.

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 society’s normative patterns

Institutions in U.S.?

• The Economy

• The Polity

• The Family

• Education

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”

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.

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

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”

Culture, Social Structure, and Crime Rates

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

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...

EXAM I “IMPENDING DOOM”

• Concern = few assignments thus far

• Format = “Short Answer Essay”

• More than: Describe Merton’s theory

• For Each Theory

• Central Concepts (and how they relate)
• Empirical status (and how you might measure concepts)
• Criticisms
• Policy Implications