Introduction
Thesis Statement
The act of having a breakdown of social values and also norms can be defined as anomie. This term was put across by a sociologist from France by the name of Emile Durkheim who wrote a book entitled suicide in the year 1897. In the modern world, this term can be further described as a lack of etiquette in one word or poor social codes of ethics (Messner,1989). In most cases, people are viewed in regards to the standards of codes of ethics that society expects of them.
There is a standard of ethic, norms and values that the society expects to see reflected on each individual and when this is not seen then issues related to the individual is approached from a different perspective because this is a condition that is nurtured (Messner, 2010). Many theories have been developed to explain the relationship between crime, anomie’ and weakened social ties in social institutions.
Anomie and Crime in America
America has not been spared by the issue of increased crime rate and a state of norm-lessness. This is seen every day as robberies, divorce rates, murders, rape cases and suicide cases among others increase day after day. Different theories have been developed to explain this. One of the major theories is on anomie’. The state of anomie in America according to Merton is a result of a strain caused by her goal of attaining economic success in a time when opportunities to achieve such are limited (Merton, 1998). Since society is divided into classes, those in the lower class are limited from accessing the opportunities or resources necessary to meet the goal legitimately.
As this happens, there is a strain that results in weakened social ties in the social institutions beginning from the family unit. Individualism takes root as people focus on attaining the goal while disregarding attached norms which govern the means in a society (Messner,1989). Economic institutions become dominant due to weakened institutional ties. This is frustrating and people opt to overlook the norms in the pursuit of meeting their goal of economic success. It is this imbalance among social structures that result in high crime rates (Messner, 2010). The higher the imbalance among social structures, the higher the crime rate.
America holds the economic goal of attaining economic success at the state level. This is narrowed down to individual levels where individuals are expected to work hard and achieve economic success. However, with the increased population and competition for natural resources, very few people have the opportunity or means to attain this success. Economic success is emphasized such that individuals think this is the only means to reach their self-actualization stage.
According to Merton, striving to attain economic success in a situation where opportunities and resources are limited results in a strain (Messner, 2010). Individuals to whom opportunities are not available to seek other means to attain this success. Though it is emphasized that economic success will be attained through hard work and schooling, these opportunities are not available to all. As a result, individuals seek other means without necessarily caring about the process followed to attain economic success.
The existing strain between attaining the goal and the limited opportunity result in individuals opting to follow cruel or illegal means so long as they attain their goal. This results in weakening of norms hence a situation of norm-lessness or anomie’ (Messner, 2009). The pressure to achieve economic success does not allow those in the low class to hold on to the norms to be followed in attaining economic success.
The only option then becomes adopting cruel and illegitimate means to achieve success. According to Maslow’s hierarchy theory, unmet needs motivate people to act in a given manner to ensure that these needs are met. One of such needs is self-actualization which cannot be realized without economic freedom. Since these people do not have legal means to meet their needs, they opt to engage in criminal acts (Merton, 1998). The anomie situation makes people free to use any means to gain wealth or attain financial freedom. The result of this is high crime rate.
Increased population in the country increases the competition for available resources. This is especially due to increased number of immigrants in the country seeking employment opportunities. Since there is increased competition for employment opportunities, employers take advantage of this and lower the payment rates (Graham, 2002). Employees then become frustrated since their payment is not enough to meet their needs. The employees also experience pressure as low financial status is associated with laziness. This pressure makes them seek alternative means of earning. They are torn between following norms and pursuing their goal of attaining economic success. When such opportunities are not available, they tend to corrupt existing systems so as to get extra finance to meet their needs (Graham, 2002).
They can opt for corrupt deals that give them some extra cash. This marks the beginning point of criminal acts. The more times one commits such a crime, the further they move from following norms and developing sensitivity to crime. It reaches a point where crime is considered a normal operation not only in these institutions but also in institutions that ought to correct individuals who break the law (Graham, 2002).
The value of the success goal in America results in individuals being less concerned with appropriate means by which they are to attain this goal. The end is pursued regardless of the means applied as emphasis on the goal result in people being obsessed with the idea of success (Messner, 2010). The range of behaviors to be adopted is limited hence weakening of norms. In addition, family members spend less time together as each gets busy trying to make ends meet. This means reduced time to instill norms in the young ones. They are left to learn and choose the best all by themselves. This weakens family ties which in turn weakens norms.
Children feel free to do whatever will lead them to success hence resulting in increased crime. In my opinion, it is the stress caused by the pressure to attain economic success that separates children from their parents resulting in a situation of anomie.
In an institution such as the family unit, the cost of education makes it hard for some to educate their children. These children still remain part of the team that should attain economic success for the dream of the country to be realized at the national level. Parents experience strain as they see other children go to expensive schools up to the highest level of education. This pressurizes them to seek alternative means of meeting their financial obligation.
The existence of norms cultivates social order and trust among the members of a given society (Messner, 2010). This means that anomie results in a situation where trust dies and social disorder takes control. Employers feel that their employees are likely to steal from them while employees feel that their employers will not pay them as per their work thus do not work hard and seek every opportunity to steal.
Information-based economic pulls a lot of women to industries and other potential employees. The outcome of this is that the family unit is neglected as both men and women seek opportunities to earn income. This weakens social ties thus resulting in anomie’ (Messner, 2010). Mental labor has been substituted by physical labor necessitating the need for more employees. According to Fukuyama, most losers in the strife for economic success are men of low economic status and women who have children and are of low economic status. The majority of those that engage in criminal offenses are from among these groups of individuals.
Conclusion
In conclusion, America will continue to experience a high crime rate so long as she emphasizes attaining economic success in a state where opportunities are limited. However, she can control this by seeking means to create employment, provide better working conditions as well as payment terms and strengthen her security. In addition, there is a need for her to control immigration as overpopulation has been a major cause of unemployment. Though other theorists have tried to explain the increased crime rate, Merton emphasizes that the other theories only add more information to this explanation but cannot substitute it.
References
Graham, D. ( 2002). Collision Course: The Strange Conversion of Affirmative Action and Immigration Policy in America. New York: Oxford University Press.
Merton, R. (1998). Merton and contemporary sociology. New York: Transaction Publishers.
Messner, S. (1989). theoretical Intergration in the study of deviance and crime: problems and prospects. New York: Suny Press.
Messner, S. (2009). the sociology of sports: an introduction. New York: McFarland.
Messner, S. (2010). Crime and The American dream. New York: University of Michigan.