• Macro level theories such as Anomie and Social disorganization require us to shift our focus to elements of the social structure that either facilitate or hinder delinquency. Classic conceptualizations of Durkheim and Merton both focus on the dangers that occur when human being have unlimited aspirations that go unchecked due to either rapid social change or insistent cultural messages about success. It is clear that when society is structured in ways that do not allow equal access to quality education and jobs, youth will often feel compelled to accomplish material or financial success in whatever means they can. Social disorganization theories encourage us to imagine our world as altering between periods of organization and disorganization in a never-ending cycle. This theory requires us to think about delinquency as a response deriving from the degree of social organization in our immediate environment, the assumption being that the physical and social class location of our neighborhoods impacts our behavior. The ecological framework of Park and Burgess, later incorporated into Shaw and McKay's social disorganization theory of delinquency, states that geographical distance from the forces of social change that come to bear on the center of cities, results in a lower rate of street delinquency than occurs in places and spaced unprotected by social order.
• Overview/Summary

There are a wide variety of theoretical attempts to address delinquency and crime that come from a critical perspective. Critical theorists are concerned with big questions of power and social control. Most critical scholars focus their work upon examining and transforming systems of inequity and oppression. The critical perspectives include labeling theories, conflict theories, and feminist theories. Labeling theorists point out that the control of young people's behavior is related to the efforts moral entrepreneurs who begin moral panics over an issue and then inspire crusades to get a hold on whatever issue appears to be out of hand. Conflict theories use insights from labeling theory in the consideration of how power and socioeconomic class affect the creation of delinquency. Crime and delinquency in this perspective can often be seen as a form of resistance against unjust laws and social practices. Feminist theories are best known for their consideration of the role of gender in delinquency. The majority of these theorists agree that the abuse and violence that girls are disproportionately exposed to in a patriarchal society needs to be central to an analysis of girls' "delinquency."

 

1. What are some race, class, and/or gender concerns addressed by anomie and social disorganization theories? What race, class, and gender concerns go unaddressed in these theories?
2. Labeling theorists' fundamental concern is with secondary deviance rather than primary deviance. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this approach? What other theory do you think would work well with labeling theory to explain primary deviance? Why?
3. In what ways do the labeling, conflict, and feminist theories address power disparities? Which approach do you find the most compelling?

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Race Class and Gender in Anomie and Social Disorganization Theories Addressed Concerns Anomie Both theories highlight how unequal access to opportunit... View the full answer