Robert Merton's Broken Strain Theory

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Its 3 O’Clock in the morning and you are found with no other choice but, to wunder up and down the empty streets of Broad street in Philadelphia hoping that you would come into contact with someone so that you are able to rob them praying that they have anything on them giving you the chance to survive another day just so that you can put a meal on the table not only for yourself but, also your family as well. Imagine living in a world where the place you were brought up into determines who you are going to become as you grow older in age. Living in a situation where you had no way to build yourself up, prosper and also, strive to become the best person you know that you are capable of being. Introducing, the structure theory which is broken …show more content…

Merton argued that “the people of the USA were encouraged to pursue the goal of monetary success, but that lower-class individuals were often prevented from achieving such success through legitimate channels - like getting a good education and then a good job” (Mclaughlin450). This would then prevent an individual from achieving any goals that they have set out for themselves considering they have so many things going against them instead of working in their favor. Strain theory is more complex and compelling in essence, it branches into a subcategory labeled relative deprivation in detail, “is generally considered to be the central variable in the explanation of social movements and is used to explain the quest for social change that inspires social movements; social movements emerge from collective feelings” (Morrison, 1971). To explain, that those who experience economic inequality are unable to achieve legitimate success within their own …show more content…

Along with the strain theory then follows the general strain theory which was reformulated in 1992 by Robert Agnew. Agnew’s “general strain theory looks at individual level crime rather than the macro-level”(Pennington5). As a result, of the general strain theory it then looks at the bigger picture that their behavior of breaking the law is a coping mechanism rather than having to deal with socioemotional problems caused by negative events that have occurred in their

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