Good Example Of Critical Thinking On Merton Strain Theory

Merton’s strain theory best explains financial crimes and white-collar crimes. The theory affirms that crime is an outcome of periods and conditions where pressure provokes an individual to maximize material gain, which is unattainable as the means of maximizing the gain are unavailable. In other words, it explains the possible reasons for lower-class crimes. According to Merton, deviance occurs when there is an inequality between the goals and the means essential to achieve the goals. He identifies four ways of adaptations, such as rebellion, ritualism, innovation and retreatism . Most of the lower-class individuals believe that they can achieve the cultural goals of the society only through crime. While some people accept the goals of the society but use illegitimate means to achieve the goals, some others give up both the goals and means accepted by the society. A few others unwillingly accept both the societal goals and means while some others reject the same and adopt alternative means.
Crime traces its roots to the disjunction from the societal goals and the culturally accepted means. Merton’s strain theory affirms the relationship between white-collar crime and profit goals. Pressure on achieving profit is a clear measure of strain and a perfect indicator of blocked means. The theory examines the corporate behaviors, both legal and illegal in periods of financial strain, which include contracting markets and low profitability . It determines how and why material wealth is a factor in most of the decisions made by the white-collar criminals. The theory mentions all the normative and organizational conditions of financial strain responsible for the likelihood of criminal outcomes. The best part of the theory is that it not only concentrates on the criminals but also on the structures and social processes that lead to such crimes . Merton predicts that individuals possessing higher aspirations but lower expectations are the ones likely to involve in crime.

References

Tibbetts, S. G., & Hemmens, C. (2009). Criminological Theory: A Text/Reader. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Vito, G., & Maahs, J. (2011). Criminology: Theory, Research, and Policy. Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.