Explain Why Crime And Deviance Can Be Understood As Normal
Explain why crime and deviance can be understood as normal.
This essay will discuss whether it is possible to classify crime and deviance as normal in everyday social life by basing on theories of Emile Durkheim, Robert Merton and Marxist criminologists. However, to in order to do this, one should first comprehend the essence of both concepts. It is important to be aware that crime is only a form of deviance that is simply more defined and regulated.
Deviance, in a sense, is essentially rule-breaking. It can any action that differ from already set script of social behaviours, and was created by the society in order to prevent the outburst of chaos, to close space for ambiguity and uncertainty (Holdaway,1992:13). This violation of social norms …show more content…
Nonetheless, it is possible to answer to this argument with another one: there are crimes that are not providing any kind of benefit to the criminal (e.g. a doctor making a mistake in patient’s treatment that causes damage, is illegal, but yet, it definitely does not benefit the doctor/criminal). Merton argues with this assumption with more realistic explanation of the phenomena. His theory is currently undeniably the most popular one amongst modern sociologists. Culture and social order as a source and, surprisingly, reason for crime and deviance is obviously less positivist in approach, than Durkheim proposed in his work. Notwithstanding, Durkheim’s observations on possible social benefits of crime and deviant behaviour are quite important. The idea, that crime in fact bonds the society (against this theoretical ‘bad power’), helps to revise certain social norms, but also reaffirms society in its moral code and its definitions of what is good, and what is bad. However, functionalist approach can be easily criticised by its biological argumentation.
Marxist, on the other hand, propose an interesting idea of crime being in fact a form of political protest and deviance a label, used by ruling class to impose order. In fact, the problem with Marxist criminology is, that it is ideological. It also overly justify crimes of the poor, which are not always a reaction to ruling class decisions and can be criticised from ethical point of
This essay will discuss whether it is possible to classify crime and deviance as normal in everyday social life by basing on theories of Emile Durkheim, Robert Merton and Marxist criminologists. However, to in order to do this, one should first comprehend the essence of both concepts. It is important to be aware that crime is only a form of deviance that is simply more defined and regulated.
Deviance, in a sense, is essentially rule-breaking. It can any action that differ from already set script of social behaviours, and was created by the society in order to prevent the outburst of chaos, to close space for ambiguity and uncertainty (Holdaway,1992:13). This violation of social norms …show more content…
Nonetheless, it is possible to answer to this argument with another one: there are crimes that are not providing any kind of benefit to the criminal (e.g. a doctor making a mistake in patient’s treatment that causes damage, is illegal, but yet, it definitely does not benefit the doctor/criminal). Merton argues with this assumption with more realistic explanation of the phenomena. His theory is currently undeniably the most popular one amongst modern sociologists. Culture and social order as a source and, surprisingly, reason for crime and deviance is obviously less positivist in approach, than Durkheim proposed in his work. Notwithstanding, Durkheim’s observations on possible social benefits of crime and deviant behaviour are quite important. The idea, that crime in fact bonds the society (against this theoretical ‘bad power’), helps to revise certain social norms, but also reaffirms society in its moral code and its definitions of what is good, and what is bad. However, functionalist approach can be easily criticised by its biological argumentation.
Marxist, on the other hand, propose an interesting idea of crime being in fact a form of political protest and deviance a label, used by ruling class to impose order. In fact, the problem with Marxist criminology is, that it is ideological. It also overly justify crimes of the poor, which are not always a reaction to ruling class decisions and can be criticised from ethical point of