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Modernity and Crime Durkheim’s Sociology of Deviance
Criminological Theory (m900)
University of the West of England
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Modernity and Crime: Durkheim’s Sociology of Deviance
Crime and deviance was generated by the overall structure of society
Biological and psychological theories were common in his ime (sill in the era of Lombroso)
Structuralism- Sociologists should follow a procedure and should conine themselves to the social facts, doesn’t mean what's going on in our heads not psychological moives (subjecivity)wants to draw a line between
Social factors - Collecive facts not individual facts it’s a fact about society objecive) social insituion, these social facts are external and exist outside the environment
We are controlled by social facts
If we want to get by
Psychological fact – speciic to us (individuals)
There’s no need to talk about the psychological moives to understand why people do what they do
What goes on in your head is revlent, external facts govern our behaviour.
We are the product of socialisaion and the product of social facts, we may have litle awareness of the social facts that shape us. i. we may believe we atend church for god, but he would say it’s a social force that binds people together and gives everyone a collecive purpose. (SOCIAL SOLIDARITY)
Funcionalism
Durkheim wants to explain social facts by the funcions we perform, social facts exist because it performs a funcion, performs something beneicial
The organismic analogy – compares it to society.
Heart, lung, stomach – each part plays a role to maintain the life of the organism. Society is a complex system that works like the body. The part must be seen in relaion to the whole. It must be understood to the system. Each social fact is to be explained by examining its role to the society.
Implicaions of this funcionalist reasoning
As he sees society as a system of funcionally related parts, that means he compelled to see society as a stable society as it’s a system of interrelated parts so if society is to survive its parts must be interrelated harmony. i. if a part of a body stop working then the organism will die
In Durkheim’s view the primary funcion of society is to hold society together, this social togetherness (social solidarity) this is possible because all the community members are socialised into the same culture – all socialised the same as we have a consensus value. Society assumes its own stability by its core values and beliefs.
Durkheim’s sociology of deviance
Modernity and Crime: Durkheim’s Sociology of Deviance
He argues in his book that crime is an inevitable part of society, it’s a normal part of any society. All socieies are based on shared values, so these values deine the rights and wrongs, therefore all socieies have systems of values and rules. This means that all socieies will disapprove of something. This shows that crime is not subjecive and is deined by rules of a society. Everyone contrasts their own crime problem, CRIME IS A SOCIAL CONTRUCT. As law and morality is always diferent depending on socieies. The act of producing rules and values automaically produces crime.
He conducts a thought experiment for us
Imagine a society of saints might be a society were there’s no murder, sex crime, thet. In such a society of saints acts of crime and device wouldn’t disappear rather all that would happen is what counts as a crime would be redeined. In such a society the morals of behaviour would be high, that the slightest slip up would be an ofence.
Durkheim (1893/1964a) disinguishes between mechanical & organic solidarity:
- Organic solidarity (modern society) → higher ‘natural’ crime rate - is a form of society that exists today. (Modern society) which binds us together which is created by the diversity of roles in modern socieies. Created by a highly specialised division of labour meaning we are all dependant on each other.] allows us to realise that we need each other and can’t be dependant by ourselves. We are all made interdependent Solidarity through diversity
- Mechanical solidarity (tradiional society) → lower ‘natural’ crime rate- dominant in the pre-modern world. Everyone did the same job. Simple division of labour where men farmed, and women made clothes. Virtually everyone has the same values as everyone’s experience was the same. Solidarity through sameness and idenity.
Implicaions
Everyone has the same values held together by religion – so they tended to conform to the community, high degree of consensus of behaviour
In modern society with division of labour we are made into individuals meaning we have more freedom to make the wrong choice and deviate. So as modern socieies create
Crime produces three good funcions
- Boundary maintenance – to make it clear to us the modern boundaries between right and wrong, unless we see people geing punished we won’t know where the boundaries lie. Some people deviate. The purpose is to clarify the diference between right and wrong, so we can stay on the right side.
- To change and challenge – for social progress, to challenge. A certain amount of change is good for society, so we can progress. Rule breaking is ine up to a certain extent
- Social Integraion – crime can bind a community together, as public alarm and outrage can serve a community together. When rules are broken it reminds us of the importance of rules. Community feelings can be reinforced. i. 9/
Anomie
Modernity and Crime Durkheim’s Sociology of Deviance
Module: Criminological Theory (m900)
University: University of the West of England
