Certain amounts are positive - generates social change
Clarifies boundaries of acceptable behaviour following social reactions to deviance
Creates social integration + bonds society together against criminals
creates shared values which are needed for society to function
Criticisms
Marxism
ideal social change and values are manipulated by the ruling class
ruling class decide what 'criminal acts' are and how laws are enforced
reflect ideas of a ruling class rather than a shared value system
individuals adopt values against their interests
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Durkheim (II)
Too much crime challenges norms and values that unite society
this threatens social order and stability
Criticisms
Marxists
appearance of consensus is an illusion
conceals reality of one class imposing its will on the rest of society
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Cohen
Deviance is a 'safety valve' - provides a relatively harmless expression of discontent
for example, men might use prositiution to escape family life without threatening family stability
Deviant acts warn about society's inadequacies
deviant subcultures form to reject mainstream culture
more deviance is created
Criticisms
Box
youths turn to deviance and form subcultures because of resentment towards teachers and middle class youth - don't share their values
this is despite the functionalist belief of a 'common value bond' and deviance being a 'safety valve'
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Hirschi
Control theory
Family, school and other institutions contribute to social order by controlling everyone's deviant tendencies
if this social control is lacking or weak then deviant acts occur
There are four crucial bonds that bind people to society
attachment
commitment
involvement
belief
Criticisms
Hirschi later teamed up with Gottfredson
found it was self control and NOT attachment to society that prevents crime
high self control = less criminal behaviour and vice versa
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Parsons
Crime is a product of 'bad socialisation'
Family is the building block of society
if families fail to instill the correct norms and values into their offspring then crime will occur
Criticisms
Interactionists
Parsons view is too deterministic
they highlight the role of humaninteraction in establishing criminal behaviour rather than basing crime solely on poor socialisation within the family
Ignores the fact that not all 'badly socialised' people commit crime
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Merton
Strain theory
American + British societies socialise individuals to meet certain goals: material and financial success. Accepted ways of achieving this are talent, ambition and effort.
There is an inquality of opportunity for those from poorer income backgrounds - path to the top is blocked
results in an unbalanced society whereby there is too much emphasis on the cultural goals and not enough on the insitutional means (anomie). Individuals respond to this in one of five ways:
conformity
innovation
ritualism
retreatism
rebellion (most likely to result in crime - for example, terrorism)
Criticisms:
Taylor
Merton fails to consider wider power relations in society
Exaggerates working class crime and ignores white collar crime
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