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RobertMerton:AnomieTheory(sometimesalsotermedstraintheoryormeansendstheory)
Inoneofthemostfamousarticlesinsociology,itsfirstversionwritteninthe1940s,RobertMerton
beginsbyaddressingbiologicalexplanationsofdevianceandconcludesthatbiologycannotaccount
forvariationsfromonesocietytothenextinthenatureandextentofdeviance.Hisprimaryinterestis
notsomuchwhyaparticularindividualdeviates,butwhytheratesofdeviancediffersodramatically
indifferentsocietiesandfordifferentsubgroupswithinasinglesociety.Mertonworkswithinthe
overallfunctionalistperspectivethatwehavealreadyaddressed,whichputsagreatdealofemphasis
ontheroleofculture,particularlyitsunifyingaspects,butnowMertonadaptsaconceptheborrows
fromDurkheimtoanalyzesituationsinwhichculturecreatesdevianceanddisunity.InDurkheim's
usage,anomiereferredtoasituationinwhichculturalnormsbreakdownbecauseofrapidchange.
Anomicsuicide,forexample,canoccurduringamajoreconomicdepression,whenpeoplearen'table
toachievethegoalsthattheyhavelearnedtopursue,butitcanalsooccurwhentheeconomy
experiencesaboomandsuddenlythesky'sthelimitpeopledon'tknowhowtolimittheirgoalsand
besatisfiedwiththeirachievements.
Mertonchangestheconceptslightly,torefertoasituationinwhichthereisanapparentlackoffit
betweentheculture'snormsaboutwhatconstitutessuccessinlife(goals)andtheculture'snorms
abouttheappropriatewaystoachievethosegoals(means).
InMerton'sformulation,anomiebecomestheexplanationforhighratesofdeviantbehaviorinthe
U.S.comparedwithothersocieties,andalsoanexplanationforthedistributionofdeviantbehavior
acrossgroupsdefinedbyclass,race,ethnicity,andthelike.TheU.S.,infact,Mertonseesasapolar
exampleofasocietyinwhichsuccessgoals(oftendefinedprimarilyinmonetaryterms)are
emphasizedforeveryoneintheculture,andpeoplearecriticizedasbeingquittersiftheyscaleback
theirgoals.Ontheotherhand,thecultureisatbestambivalentinitsnormsabouttheapporpriate
meansofbeingsucessful.Certainlyhardworkandambition,inschoolandthenintheeconomic
marketplace,aretheculturallyapprovedmeansofsuccess,butthere'salsoanelementofadmiration
fortherobberbaronandtheroguewhobreakstherulesaboutappropriatemeansbutachievessuccess
goalsbydeviantmeans.InAmerica,inotherwords,successisprobablyratedalotmorehighlythan
virtue.
Inaddition,theU.S.hasminoritygroupswhoseaccesstosuccessbyconventionalmeansisclearly
limited.IntheperiodinwhichMertonwaswriting,ourswasaclearlyracistsociety.Black
Americans,forexample,wereseverelylimitedintheiraccesstoeducation,butiftheyovercamethose
obstaclesandobtainedagoodeducation,thateducationwouldnot"buy"themasgoodajobasit
wouldforawhiteperson.Insomesocietiesthatemphasizeascriptivecriteriainallocatingpowerand
privilege,theculturesetsaverydifferentstandardofsuccess.Someonewhowasbornanuntouchable
intheIndiancastesystem,forexample,wouldlearnnottoaspiretothekindofsuccessthatmightbe
availabletoanuppercasteindividual.ButintheU.S.thesamekindsofsuccessgoalsareheldoutto
all.Thusourveryhighratesofdevianceandcrime,comparedwithothersocieties,inMerton's
analysiscanbeunderstood,firstasaresultofouremphasizingsuccessgoalsmorethanweemphasize
approvedmeansofachievingthosegoals,andsecond,ouremphasizingthesamekindofsuccessfor
everyoneevenwhiletherace,ethnic,andclassstratificationofthesocietylimitstheopportunitiesfor
successbythoseinthelessprivilegedgroups.
Howdopeoplerespondtothisdisjunctionofgoalsandmeans?Mertoncreatesatypologyof
adaptations.Thefirstsymboldesignatespeople'srelationshiptonormsaboutgoalsthesecond
symboldesignatestheirrelationshiptonormsaboutthemeansofachievingthosegoals.
Modeofadaptation
I.Conformity++
http://www.d.umn.edu/~bmork/2306/Theories/BAManomie.htm

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II.Innovation+
III.Ritualism+
IV.Retreatism
V.Rebellionxx
Inthisdiagram,a"+"meansacceptance,a""signifiesrejection,andan"x"meansrejectionof
prevailingvaluesandsubstitutionofnewones.
AlthoughMertonspendssometimediscussingeachofthesemodesofadaptation,it'sprobablythe
secondone,"innovation,"whichmostlogicallyfollowsfromhisearlierdiscussionoftherelationship
betweencultureanddevianceingeneralandthedevianceproducingfeaturesofAmericansocietyin
particular.Innovatorsarepeoplewhobreaktherules(andoftenthelaws)inordertoachievethe
successgoalsthataresoheavilypromotedinthesociety.Attheupperlevels,Mertonpointsout,"the
pressuretowardinnovationnotinfrequentlyerasesthedistinctionbetweenbusinesslikestrivingsthis
sideoftheapprovednormsandsharppracticesbeyondthenorms."MertonquotesThorsteinVeblen:
"Itisnoteasyinanygivencaseindeeditisattimesimpossibleuntilthecourtshavespokentosay
whetheritisaninstanceofpraiseworthysalesmanshiporapenitentiaryoffense."
Butheseesthegreatestpressurestoward"innovation"operatingatthelowerlevelsofthe
stratificationsystem."Here"incentivesforsuccessareprovidedbytheestablishedvaluesofthe
cultureandsecond,theavenuesavailableformovingtowardthisgoalarelargelylimitedbytheclass
structuretothoseofdeviantbehavior.Itisthecombinationoftheculturalemhasisandthesocial
structurewhichproducesintensepressurefordeviation.""Despiteourpersistingopenclassideology,
advancetowardthesuccessgoalisrelativelyrareandnotablydifficultforthosearmedwithlittle
formaleducationandfeweconomicresources.""Withinthiscontext,AlCaponerepresentsthe
triumphofamoralintelligenceovermorallyprescribed"failure,"whenthechannelsofvertical
mobilityareclosedornarrowedinasocietywhichplacesahighpremiumoneconomicaffluenceand
socialascentforallitsmembers."
NoticethatMerton'sanalysisisnotultimatelyaimedattheindividuallevelwhydoesthisindividual
deviateandthisonenotbutatthelevelofgroupsandsocietiesasreflectedindifferingratesof
deviance.Mertonisn'tsayingthateveryindividualexposedtotheseculturalconflictsreactsthesame
wayonthecontrary,histypologyisdesignedtoallowforvariationattheindividuallevel.Inhis
concludingremarks,Mertonhimselfhighlightsthemajorweaknessesofhisanalysis."Thisessayon
thestructuralsourcesofdeviantbehaviorremainsbutaprelude.Ithasnotincludedadetailed
treatmentofthestructuralelementswhichpredisposetowardoneratherthananotherofthealternative
responsesopentoindividualslivinginanillbalancedsocialstructure.Ithaslargelyneglectedbutnot
deniedthesocialpsychologicalprocessesdetermihngthespecificincidenceoftheseresponsesithas
onlybrieflyconsideredthesocialfunctionsperformedbydeviantbehavior...ithasonlytouchedupon
rebelliousbehaviorwhichseekstorefashionthesocialframework."Unfortunately,asissooftenthe
casewithpeopledoingwhattheylabelaspreliminaryorexploratorywork,Mertonneverwentonto
attempttheadditionalworkthathehimselfrecognizedascrucialtoafullunderstandingofthe
dynamichedescribesinthisessay.

http://www.d.umn.edu/~bmork/2306/Theories/BAManomie.htm

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