Anomie theory of crime

The concept of Anomie was first introduced during the latter part of the nineteenth
century by French sociologist Emile Durkheim who described the phenomenon as
a condition of normative confusion or “normlessness” which existing rules and
values have little impact. In other words, Anomie is the breakdown of social norms
and values. Decades later, building on Durkheim’s work, Robert k. Merton of
Colombia University used the concept of anomie to develop a general theory of
criminal behavior. This theory is also known as strain theory. This theory stems
from Robert Merton’s 1938 analysis of the relation between culture and social
structure. Merton suggested that society has two component parts: a culture and a
social structure. The culture consists of a set of norms, values and attitudes that
establishes the goal that individuals should pursue and the acceptable means and
behavior patterns for achieving those goals. The social structure involves the
organized set of social relationships in which the members of a society play their
various roles. He elaborates that every society has cultural goals and
institutionalized means for achieving these goals. Crime results from the gap
between aspirations and achievable goals. His ideas are better explained as below.
Modes of adaptation Cultural or societal Institutionalized means
goals
Conformity + +
Innovation + -
Ritualism - +
Retreatism - -
Rebellion +/- +/-
In the above diagram, the + symbol indicates acceptance and – indicates rejection.
Conformity is the term used to describe the acceptance of cultural goals and the
approved means for achieving them. Conformists are those people, having cultural
goals and use legal means for achieving these goals. Moreover, they do so even
when the legitimate means for reaching the valued goals are out of their grasp.
Most of the people wish a secure and successful career. They desire a safe livable
environment, entertainment, vacations and material possessions. Yet, a vast
majority of people living in poverty have few means for satisfying these desires.
Nevertheless, most love income citizens still conform. They play by the rules and
earn a living the best way they can. Furthermore, they do so because there are other
society-wide cultural influences that support conformity i.e. religious values, belief
in opportunity, public education and the absence of formal legal restrictions against
upward mobility.
Innovation involves acceptance of cultural goals but rejection of the means a
society deems proper for reaching these goals. The innovators are the people who
selects disapproved means to achieve goals. Students cheating on exams, thieves,
stock manipulators, drug dealers and CD pirates attain cultural goals, such as
wealth or grades but have rejected conventional routes. Rather they innovate,
choosing new means of achieving these goals. Innovation, however, is actually a
poor choice of terms for this form of adaptation. Most criminals merely copy
illegitimate means already known to them. Thus, using disapproved means is
hardly the same thing as inventing or creating new ones. Innovators are those
people who wish to achieve cultural goals but use illegitimate means for achieving
these goals when the goals are out of their grasp.
Ritualism is the rejection of society’s goals but the acceptance of society’s means
for achieving those goals. Ritualists accepts the means for their own sake; and the
goals become irrelevant and are ignored. They use institutionalized means but
having no goals. The example of ritualist most often cited in the government
bureaucracy who insist on strictly enforcing every petty rule.
Retreatism describes the rejection of both the goals a society or culture establishes
and the means society prescribes for achieving these goals. The people who have
no cultural goal and no struggle for goals. They are aside from the rest of the
world. These people include addicts and psychopaths.
Rebellion is characterized by the acceptance and rejection of the goals and the
means of achieving those goals established by society. Rebels characteristically
also aim to establish some new social order. They attempt to create a new set of
goals and new norms governing appropriate means. They are different from
innovators because the philosophy behind their rejection is change in society. The
most visible and expressive examples of rebellion involve the various terrorist
organization throughout the world that resort to bombing, kidnapping, and
assassinations in order to draw attention to their cause and to initiate change.
Criticisms. This theory is criticized on the following grounds
 This theory fails to explain the causes that why people opt for criminal life
style.
 It also under explains the conventional crimes.
 Furthermore, this theory is criticized because it ignores social control (Ibid).