Summary:
An examination of how a stucturalist would approach the topic of crime and the reasons behind it. Structuralism states that the oppressed, working class has very few life chances to achieve the goal of success that is now so dominant in many cultures, and that this pressure leads many male youths to steal among other means to try to gain monetary success or respect. The wide range of sociological theories used in this examination include functionalism of Durkheim, the American structuralism of Merton, the subcultural theory of Cohen, and the work of Marxists and neo-Marxists, among others.
To look at crime from a structuralist perspective is to examine society as a whole but also realise that it is made up of a number of sub-cultures that inter relate. Structuralists say that social behaviour is primarily due to the way society is organised. Many sociologists have tried to understand and explain the reasons why people deviate from society's norms.
In the 19th Century, Durkheim, a functionalist, tried to show crime as having a function in society. He decided that to have a healthy and normal society, we need to have a certain amount of crime. If there was to be no crime in society and everyone lived exactly as they should then there is no room for change or innovation which is necessary for a healthy society. Crime helps society function by condemning those who.....
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