MODERNITY AND CRIME

Modern views about crime and deviance have largely been dominated by Durkheim’s ideologies. For Durkhiem, sociology is basically the scientific study of social facts. These “social facts” were external from the individual and were collective as one organic analogy which represents society working together. For example only an individual can think but a society or collective can have an ideology. Thus crime was basically a result of the underlying structures within it. Moving on, sociology being the study of social facts which was separate from the individual could also assess crime. He explained that there were 2 elements in society which were structuralism and functionalism.

·         Structuralism- Social facts as things or collective entities which organise society and set rules.

·         Functionalism- A collective consciousness that utilises the social facts.

This means that crime could be assessed as also performing a distinctive function as it is external from the individual and also a social fact that occurs within society. Durkhiem states “Crime is natural”, it’s an “integral part of all healthy societies.” The reason for this is that it performs functions that remind society the correct way to behave and what is regarded as morally and socially wrong. There are 3 types of deviance:

·         Normative Deviance- Good, reminds society how not to behave.

·         Progressive Deviance- Good reminds society that change in the function or definition of deviance is necessary.

·         Pathological Deviance- Bad, negative force that can cause anomie and lawlessness.

Thus the main function of crime:

·         Used to maintain social order

·         Challenge existing laws which are inflexible but prone to evolving or adapting.

·         Crime itself integrates society into collective consciousness about laws and value consensus.

He also historically assesses the fact that there are 2 types of social solidarity which leads to the inevitability of crime. These are:

·         Mechanical Solidarity- There is a lower natural crime rate that existed in the pre-modern feudal eras. People were bound to socialisation and saw each other as groups rather than individuals due to the less complexity of society.

·         Organic Solidarity- Acted as a form of social togetherness in modern industrial societies. It has a higher natural crime rate due to the constant social changes and technological improvements in society. Things were more complicated and people could be individuals dependent on themselves. (E.g Parson’s explanation of the disconnection of extended families into nuclear.)