Emile Durkheim
Emile Durkheim & Anomie or Strain TheoryDURKHEIM AND ANOMIE OR STRAIN THEORY
by Brent M. Pergram, Masers of Arts in Sociology
Emile Durkheim is the founder of the study of anomie theory or strain theory that believes that anomie or strain causes a person to commit suicide or some other deviant act. This research paper will discuss several articles that deal with strain theory and with Durkheim�s theory of anomie. I will also discuss articles on Merton�s strain theory, and on Agnew�s General Strain Theory that expands the concept of strain. Durkheim is the founder of anomie theory, but Merton, and later Agnew made changes to the theory to try to make it a general theory that could explain most types of deviance.
Anomie is a concept that is associated with two theorists, Emile Durkheim and Robert
Merton. Durkheim introduced the term in his 1893 book The Division of Labor in Society, when he described it as a condition of deregulation occurring in society. This occurs when the general rules of a society have broken down and that people no longer know what to expect from one another. It is this state of normlessness or deregulation in society that leads to deviant behavior. Durkheim used the term anomie again in his classic 1897 book Suicide, referring to a morally deregulated condition were people have inadequate moral control over their actions. Therefore, a given society may be anomic if people do not know when to stop striving for success, or how to treat others along the way. Regardless of which of these two descriptions of anomie one uses, a brake down in either the rules of society or the moral norms, Durkheim clearly meant to describe a disruption or normal societal conditions. Durkheim was preoccupied with the effects of social change. Durkheim best illustrated his concept of anomie not in a discussion of crime but of suicide.
In the Division of Labor in Society, Durkheim proposed two concepts. First, that societies evolved from a simple, non-specialized form, called mechanical, toward a highly complex, specialized form, called organic. In a simple mechanical society people behave and think alike, and basically perform the same work tasks and have the same group-oriented goals. When societies become more complex, or organic, work also becomes more complex. In an organic society, people are no longer tied to one another and social bonds are impersonal.
Thus anomie refers to a breakdown of social norms and is a condition where norms no longer control the activities of members in society. The individuals in society cannot find their place in it, without clear rules to help guide them. Changing conditions in society as well as adjustment of life leads to dissatisfaction, conflict, and deviance. Durkheim observed that social periods of disruption, such as economic depression...
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