A Critical Look at Merton's Anomie Theory

Abstract

For more than thirty years Merton's anomie theory has been influential in American sociology in general and the sociology of deviance in particular. Although it may appear in various guises (Merton, 1968: 185-248; Cloward and Ohlin, 1960), the theory appears to be based on the following syllogism. (1) The disjunction between aspirations and the opportunity for realizing aspirations produces pressures toward deviance. (2) Due to the pervasive influence of success ideology in American society, persons of the lower class, like those of the upper and middle classes (henceforth to be jointly referred to as classes), tend to hold high aspirations for success but, unlike those of the higher classes, suffer from the socially structured lack of opportunity for realizing the aspirations. That is, lower-class persons tend to experience a greater aspiration-opportunity disjunction than do higher-class persons. (3) Therefore, lowerclass persons are more likely to be pressured toward deviance. While regarding the first premise as tenable, this paper will review some arguments and data which suggest that the second premise is based on questionable assumptions and that the facts employed to support the conclusion are also questionable.