The Social Structure Theory Explain The Potence Of Middle Class Crime

To understand how a structural theorist would explain the presence of middle class crime you have to first understand what the Social Structure Theory stands for. Social Structure Theory is defined as “the view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime” (Siegel, 2015, p. 187). What Siegel means is that the lower the social class and more disadvantaged and oppressed the population they have more of a reason to commit crime. Everyone knows that 95% of the wealth is held by 1% of the population. Thus leaving and extremely large gap between the middle and upper class. This causes such a diverse gap of opportunities between the two. If looking at strictly income that defined the middle class one would be surprised …show more content…
A Structural theorist would be able to describe the presence of middle class crime based on a number of factors. Some of these factors could include how far down on the scale is there income, how many children do they have, where do they live, and can the goals they have be attained. By answering these questions in relation to the Social Structure theory one can see the vast array of implications that can affect whether or not they would commit a …show more content…
The Social Disorganization Theory, the Strain Theory, and Strain. The Social Disorganization Theory “focuses on the breakdown of institutions such as the family, school, and employment in inner-city neighborhoods” (Siegel, 2015, p.187). By living within the means of say 20 to 50 thousand dollars is still not enough to live on to support a single parent family and provide private education. This amount of income is just enough to not qualify for welfare. The Strain Theory “sees crime as a function of the conflict between people’s goals and the means available to obtain them” (Siegel, 2015, p.187). Someone who is making between 20 and 50 thousand a year cannot always find way to achieve their dreams such as a new car or a secondary education thus creating more of a gap to not being able to achieve their goals. The Strain Theory is described as “The emotional turmoil and conflict caused when people believe they cannot achieve their desires and goals through legitimate means” (Siegel, 2015, p.187). The middle class is one of the worst social classes to be in because they do not always qualify for any supplemental resources such as financial aid or nutritional assistance. They make just enough to live but not always as comfortable as they would like to. Sometimes the strain is too great and individuals digress in order to be able to achieve their dreams like going back to