![]() So the rate at which individuals start deviating from the norm is relative to the cohesiveness of that society.įor example the credit crunch caused a massive economic crisis and any increase in the number of suicides can be explained by the lack of regulation in that society. ![]() So we can see that crime is also an expression of individual freedom (as too little crime indicates an oppressive society) and a sign of social change. As what might been seen as social progress is in fact the sign that there’s some social disorder afoot. He also noted that society should be just as concerned when crime rates fell below that society’s average. But this deviance becomes a positive function as it helps society establish a social consensus about what is right and wrong. Therefore crime is a normal aspect of a healthy society as a society without any crime must be extremely repressive and dysfunctional.ĭurkheim argued that a society without deviance is impossible as people wil naturally deviate from any social norms or ideals. Most importantly Durkheim reasoned, crime and the subsequent punishment provides a positive social function as it establishes and maintains a social consensus about what is and isn’t deviant behaviour. Please examine this here if you missed it in the earlier lessons or if you don’t feel you have yet understood the connection between suicide and crime statistics!) (His research into suicide also pioneered sociological research methods into measuring crime. Therefore crime is not abnormal, it is simply a part of normal industrial societies where people live in complex social organisations. Therefore a social fact is a feature of society rather than individuals.ĭurkheim argued as crime was evident to all societies it must be seen as a normal endemic feature. This is because such turbulent times produce anomie as people’s normal expectations become deregulated.įrom Durkheim’s position crime is a social fact ( social facts are the values, cultural norms, and social structures existing outside the individual and are capable of exercising social constraints). Durkheim found rates of suicide rose not only in times of severe economic hardship but also in periods of rapid prosperity. As you’ll have discovered the apparently individualistic decision to take one’s own life was dependent on wider social and economic conditions. ![]() Follow this link to understand Durkheim’s study on suicide). (It is important to note here that Durkheim’s study of suicide effectively gave sociology its academic status, because he found suicide was the result of societal conditions rather than individual pathology. However before you look at that, it might be useful to refresh yourself with the AS level principles of functionalism here before moving into most complex areas of the theory.ĭurkheim reasoned that crime was endemic to all societies in the same way suicide was. However before you examine this perspective you will need to familiarise yourself with functionalist social theory. Durkheim was the main architect of the functionalist perspective of crime. ![]()
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