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Emile Durkheim's Anomie Theory

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Emile Durkheim's Anomie Theory
Emile Durkheim is a French sociologist who is responsible for discovering the “Anomie Theory”. “The Anomie theory originally meant an explanation of suicide.” (Theories of deviant behavior, pg.107) We now know this theory as when rules or authority is defeated by bad behavior . Since the desires of humans can never be satisfied, society will never accomplish ceasing crime completely. “That being said, crime is and always will be functional and desirable behavior”(Theories of deviant Behavior, pg 107) And rebellion of teenagers is a prime example as to why crime can be a desirable behavior. As a society we make up our values and expectations of others , which determines what is a crime and what is not. Yet, Durkheim made a interesting point …show more content…
He stated, “that if all crime was repressed people would then start to look at small violations as crimes, hence why crime is a functional part of society. “(TODB, Pg 107) Durkheim also starts to talk about what social status, and income can do to crime rates. He even goes as far to mention that bad behavior or “crime” can be a result of technological advances. As society changes so does bad behavior. Those situations unfortunately create anomies. For example, in a lower economic status neighborhood, bad behavior tends to outweigh the rules. Too many gangs, not enough cops. Durkheim also brings up a good point concerning goals and relating to crime. (TODB, Pg 107)Since we as humans cant satisfy all of our desires, its important to have goals, but what some people do to achieve their goals is concerning to society. Having goals is not a problem, but setting unrealistic and impossible goals is what creates an anomie. On the flip side Mr. Durkheim also said that reaching your goal too quickly can also cause bad behavior. Such as gaining wealth to quickly, an example of this could be a drug cartel. Greed is a big part of Durkheim’s theory, which is the basis for the anomie theory. He was stated ,“the more one has more one
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