Assess the functionalist theory of crime and deviance

Most Sociological prospective tend to agree that some criminal deviancy can drive social change. Functionalism sees crime as functional, it creates jobs. Law enforcers such as police, judges, prison wardens e.t.c are professions which exist due to crime. This is a somewhat positive view of crime because it provides employment. Conflict theory takes this one step further. It likes to challenge the state of affairs by theorising that crime or unrest are essential for a social revolution. Conflict theorist George Vold noted “A society

This particular work will consist of a critical theoretical review and a comparative analysis on two criminological theories. For the comparison I have chosen Marx’s theory of crime and Merton’s strain theory of deviance. My critical comparison analysis will emphasise the central concepts and arguments within both theories and how each theory explains crime. The analysis will then explore modern day studies in which have stemmed from these theories as well as explore the many similarities and differences between these two theories. Exploring the strengths and weaknesses in both approaches and concluding that although both theories are

Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the usefulness of functionalist approaches in explaining crime

In American society money is seen as the purpose of life, overemphasized. In attaining that money, for some individuals is not always great but the money in the end, the goal, is greater. Success is attainable for everyone which leaves failure to be the fault of the individual. Merton described five modes of adaptation, depending on the individual's attitudes toward cultural goals and institutional means to attain them. The first approach to the adaptation of strain in society is Conformity, the most common. Individuals accept both the goals as well as the advised means for attaining those goals. The last four adaptations Merton described were seen as deviant; Innovation, Ritualism, Retreatism, and Rebellion. Individuals

Functionalists do not give clear explanations of negative behavior and the extreme forms of deviance found in crime and abuse. This makes society destabilized as a whole.

Marxist and neo-Marxist approaches and explanations of crime are arguably some of the most controversial, for the reason that they state that it is the ruling class that is responsible for criminalising the working classes, which goes directly against what official statistics and Functionalists believe. However, Marxism and Functionalism do share a similarity in that both believe structures and institutions of society play a very important role in determining how people behave, criminally or otherwise.

Functionalists look at society as a whole. They explain crime and deviance by stating that the source of deviance lies in the nature of society rather than the individual.

One example that is riddled with this strain theory idea is the making of America. Pioneers came from all over, immigrating to what is now the United States. These immigrants from Europe and Asia all saw the potential that the “American Dream” held for them, but most failed to see the hard work and tight pocketbooks that laid ahead of them. Many turned to theft, prostitution, and the like, since jobs in their specialty were not always available for them. They had good intentions— most often to take care of themselves and their family, but how these immigrants went about doing so was wrong. The way to achieve the American Dream was, and still is, through higher education—college only—and a solid work ethic.

Functionalism was founded by Emile Durkheim, who continuously question norms and how society works. Functionalism is based on how society conformed to the daily functions of everyday activity. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, there are boundaries that are strict between morals and social. Functionalism focus on the natural way society works, it doesn’t try to see how society will work if changed. Functionalism in a society is just one big circle, everyone contributes to one another to keep it going.

Deviance and crime are wide-ranging terms used by sociologists to refer to behavior that varies, in some way, from a social norm. Cultural Norms are society's propensity towards certain ideals; their aversion from others; and their standard, ritualistic practices. Essentially the 'norm' is a summation of typical activities and beliefs of group of people. This essay will evaluate the sociological theories associated with crime and deviance and to compare and contrast these main theories. And find links between these theories to today’s society. There are various Sociological deviance theories, including Structuralist: why do some people break the rules? ,

Functionalists see crime deviance in society as a function, in that it serves to remind us, through public condemnation of those who have broken the rules, of our shared values and norms. Furthermore, they suggest that crime is a result of structural tensions and a lack of moral regulations within society. If the

Crime and deviance are acts that will elicit dissent from society. They take various forms and involve various concepts and theories. It will be the aim of this paper to explore those that are considered to be functional for society.

Every theory of crime has at least 2-3 meta-theoretical levels above it. The fundamental issues are usually addressed at the approach level, and are often called the assumptions, or starting points, of a theory, although the term "assumptions" more strictly refers to the background or domain boundaries one can draw generalizations about. Above the approach level is the Perspective level, the largest unit of agreement within a scientific community, and in fact, the names for the scientific disciplines. Perspectives are sometimes called paradigms or viewpoints, although some people use the term paradigm to refer to untestable ideologies such as: (1) rational choice; (2) pathogenesis; (3) labeling;

The functionalist theory interprets all parts of society: the functional and dysfunctional. Although crime and deviance may seem to be dysfunctional to society, they are important aspects of society because they help to create social norms and social order. Crime and

The functionalist theories share a common structural explanation of causes of deviance . They assume that conformity in society is achieved through the existence of norms and values shared by the general consensus and that a high level of social integration is required for society to function successfully .