Robert Merton and Social Structure

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that according to the philosopher Thomas Hobbes, without social controls, because of humanity's biological impulses, life would be nasty, brutish and short. Although we as a society now reject Hobbes' mode of governance, many theorists of crime seem to adopt a similar line of analysis. The writer points out that they see crime as a product of the individual rather than society, and crime as having biological rather than sociological origins. However, the writer discusses that Robert K. Merton's theories of social controls and anomie give a persuasive example of how there is considerable evidence that some social structures exert a definite pressure upon certain persons in the society to engage in nonconformist rather than conformist conduct. The writer discusses how the social structure of a society, in this case, American society, sets certain norms, such as the norm of success. The writer concludes that it creates institutional norms, like the ideal that capitalist firms must quickly show a profit.

From the Paper:

"Those who doubt the truth of this statement need look no farther than a college campus to see it in action. College students who might never have drank before attending school, or perhaps only had a glass of wine in private at family dinners and functions may feel pressured to drink to fit into the dominant social milieu. These students may not even enjoy drinking, and very likely know the logical consequences of drinking to excess, including sickness, the dangers of alcoholism, failing grades, and even overdosing. There is also the chance of engaging in foolish and regrettable behavior, and even putting one's self at risk for sexually transmitted diseases.
"The students have been made aware of the fact, by the school's administration, that it is illegal to drink until they are over the age of 21, and that alcohol is not permitted on campus."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dreer, Laura E. & David M. Dush, George F. Ronan, Timothy R. Elliot, Donna W. Ronan. (May/Jun 2004). "Binge Drinking and College Students: An Investigation of Social Problem-Solving Abilities." Journal of College Student Development. Retrieved 18 Oct 2007 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3752/is_200405/ai_n9363055
• Merton, Robert K. (Oct 1938). "Social structure and Anomie." American Sociological Review. 3: 672-682.
• Sampson, Robert J., Robert Bartusch, & Dawn Jeglum. "Legal cynicism and (subcultural?) Tolerance of deviance: The neighborhood context of racial d ifferences." (1998). Law & Society Review. Retrieved 18 Oct 2007 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3757/is_199801/ai_n8781231
• Young, Thomas. (Oct 1993). "Unemployment and property crime: not a simple relationship." The American Journal of Economics and Sociology. Retrieved 18 Oct 2007 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0254/is_n4_v52/ai_14558022

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