Robert Merton Strain Theory Analysis

Two sociological theories which are espoused in the article are Robert Merton’s Strain theory and Conflict Theory. Robert Merton’s strain theory deals with two aspects of why deviance occurs: 1) the goals society sets up for people to achieve and 2) the means one must have in order for the attainment of these goals. The strain theory suggests that not everyone is equal; meaning that not everyone has the same opportunity to attain the “legitimate” means to achieve goals and be successful. According to Merton, there are five types of deviance; conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion. While both the conformist and innovator accept the goals of society, the innovator rejects the legitimate means to achieve the goal. On the …show more content…
While the bourgeoisie has the access to the means of production, the proletariat does not. This forces the proletariat into selling their labour to the capitalists in order to make money to survive. In terms of deviance and crime, anything that goes against the dominant class and its norms is considered as deviant or criminal. Therefore, if the working class chooses to deviate from working for the capitalists, the capitalists have less labour to exploit to make money. To prevent this, laws are put in place in favour of the dominant class to protect their property and interests; deterring those from participating in activities which have the ability to threaten the agenda of the capitalists. Furthermore, laws benefit the dominant class while controlling everyone else (REF jrank). It also focuses greatly on those who are poor and a part of minority groups by magnifying the harms of street crime while minimizing the harms of crimes committed by the rich (i.e. white collar crimes and corporate crimes). In the context of this article, it is evident through the majority of arrests and incarcerations made as a result of drug dealing that dealing drugs is considered as an illegitimate mean which conflicts with the interests of the dominant class. Additionally, Aboriginals face inequality and the bias of the criminal justice system. The bias of the criminal justice system can be seen in the disproportionate numbers of Aboriginal people in Canadian prisons (e.g. 19 percent in prisons but only 3% of Canadian population), along with the need for increased patrolling in specific communities such as Hobbema. This suggests that Aboriginals are so dangerous that they must be under surveillance to prevent any harms they may produce. Increased patrolling also