According to Durkheim in the society people may fail to act according to the expected social standards or ethical norms. Such individuals may act in such a manner because of the lack of clear expected behaviours. Durkheim named such behaviour as anomie which means normlessness. Lack of similar social standards may cause deviant characteristics in people and it may lead to criminal activities such as depression and suicide. The theory was based on the idea that lack of clarity and rules in the society results in the psychological status of lack of purpose, despair, frustration and worthlessness.
When a person has such thoughts and feelings it is impossible to consider anything that is futile. It is the same reason that may lead a person into thinking that there is no reason not to engage in criminal activity. In criminology, the idea of anomie may result when a person chooses a criminal activity. Lack of foreseeable alternatives in life may lead a person into criminal activity.
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In society, there are a set of accepted norms that guide the behaviour of the people in that community. However, some people feel that they should not be bound by these standards and thus they deviate from them. According to Durkheim, deviance refers to violation of established social norms, cultural or codified law. Durkheim notes that the act of deviance from these expectations in the society by some individual because of lack of standard norms is what causes crime.
When developing the theory, Durkheim noted that rules that guide the relationship among people in the society were disintegrating which affected how people were supposed to interact with one another. When the expectation of such interactions is unclear it may lead to the deviation that causes the breakdown of a system which is what Durkheim referred to as anomie. When the insatiable human desires are not controlled by society as a result of social change it affects how people relate because there is no parameter of the expected social behaviours. Normlessness causes disorganization, behavioural shifts and overall disorders which may cause increased criminal activities in the society.
An example of a crime that happens because of anomie
In modern society, the constant pressure to become successful in society may lead people in deviating from the acceptable means to achieve the goal. In modern society, goals have become so important that the institutionalized means are overruled in the process of achieving them. The greater emphasis on the end product rather than the process of achieving the goal create stressors that cause a breakdown in regulatory structures.
For example, corporate organizations are expected to attain revenue by the shareholders. The process of making the profits become less important to organizations that they take part in irregularities to increase the income. In 2001, Enron one of the largest energy organization in the United States filed for bankruptcy. The reason is that the company was expected to make profits to increase the returns on shareholders’ investment capital. The CEO of the firm by then was forced to fraudulently increase its profits to keep the investors happy. He was arrested because of crime and sentenced for 24 years.
The pressure for a person to become successful can push a person against the institutionalized rule. When goals become too vital, the workforce may be forced to engage in activities that are against the expected norms in society to attain these goals. The anomie theory has been expounded by other scholars especially in sociology and criminology with the goal of explaining the reason some of the crime happens.
In other cases, the changes in society happen too fast that the expected norms of interaction become confusing. For example, when a poor youth from a low-income family does not get enough education and training that they do not fir in the job market. It becomes difficult for such a person to find work. The young person parents lack resources to support the kid. The person becomes an adult and must provide for themselves but because of the lack of job, they feel worthless with no direction or sense of purpose. As an outlet of such an individual may engage in criminal activities because they felt that there are no other options and to try and achieve a higher purpose would be a waste of time.
When people feel that there are no alternatives in life they might be forced to act in a way that they break the set standards in society. The theory of anomie explains that people may feel stressed that they fail to see the reason for trying to achieve a higher purpose in life. Culture disparities may be the reason that causes of anomie. The differences that exist in society might be part of the reason why animals happen in society because the expected behaviours are not the same in different cultures. For example, it is illegal to carry a gun in some states while others it is legal. Marijuana is legal in some places while in others it is referred to as an illegal drug. Such differences in society may cause crime that was not intended.
