ÉMILE DURKHEIM: ANOMIE THEORY

 B1851746 FOMA JOSHUA. BBA.PSS

 B210367B MAODZEKA MARIA. FI
What is Anomie?
 Anomie is a term that essentially
refers to a breakdown of the norms
and values of a society or an
individual, resulting in what is
called normlessness, or a state of
confusion and chaos in which
people do not know how to act.
 ANALYSIS OF THE
DEFINITION
 The anomie definition can actually be further
split to denote both individual and societal
anomie.
 As a social issue, anomie refers to a breakdown

of social codes that results in widespread loss of

identity and structure and impacts many
people. As an individual emotional state,
anomie is a sense of disconnection from society
regardless of how that society is actually
functioning.
 OVERVIEW OF ANOMIE
THEORY
 The idea of anomie means the lack of normal
ethical or social standards.
 This concept first emerged in 1893, when

French sociologist Emile Durkheim published

his book entitled, The Division of Labor in
Society.
 In this book, Durkheim indicated that the rules of

how individuals interact with one another were

disintegrating and therefore people were unable
to determine how to act with one another.
 OVERVIEW
 As a consequence, Durkheim believed that anomie was
a state where the expectations of behavior are unclear,
and the system has broken down. This is known as
normlessness.
 Durkheim claimed that this normlessness caused
deviant behaviors, and later, as claimed in his 1897
work on Suicide and depression.
 Durkheim's theory was based on the idea that the
lack of rules and clarity resulted in psychological
status of worthlessness, frustration, lack of purpose,
and despair.
 OVERVIEW
 In criminology, the idea of anomie is that the
person chooses criminal activity because the
individual believes that there is no reason not
to.
 In other words, the person is alienated, feels

worthless and that their efforts to try and

achieve anything else are fruitless. Therefore,
with lack of any foreseeable alternative, the
person falls into criminal activity.
Emile Durkheim (1893)

 Made three specific claims

about the nature of crime:
1. Crime is normal
2. Crime is inevitable
3. Crime is useful
Crime is normal
 As normal as birth and marriage.
 Crimes occur in all societies.

 They are closely tied to the facts of

collective life.
 Crime rates tend to increase as societies

evolve from lower to higher phases.

 Crime is normal
 In societies with mechanical solidarity
punishment was more severe.
 Criminal act offends the strong, well-defined

common consciousness.
 A crime against another person=crime

against the entire society.

 Rejection was the most terrible

punishment.
Crime is inevitable

 No society can ever be entirely

rid of crime.
 Imagine a community of saints in a perfect

and exemplary monastery.

 Absolute conformity to rules is impossible.

 Each member in society faces variation in

background, education, heredity and social

influences.
 Crime is useful

 Crime is crucial to the normal evolution of

law and morality.
 Crime often is a symptom of individual
originality and a preparation for changes in
society.
 Rosa Parks (was a criminal) and now she is a
hero. Her simple act of protest galvanized
America's civil rights revolution.
 APPLICATION OF ANOMIE
THEORY
 For Durkheim, anomie was a concept of
particular importance in a world that was
rapidly industrializing.
 This industrialization, particularly in Europe,

was leading in some cases to rapid changes to the

social order that caused people to feel confused
and lost.
 The kinds of behavior that were considered

acceptable were becoming less easy for people to

define.
 APPLICATION OF ANOMIE
THEORY
 Durkheim emphasized that anomie led people
to commit more crimes because of a lack of
normative expectation and a lack of social
support.
 He also discussed the impact of anomie on

mental health. For Durkheim, the solution to

an anomic society was solidarity among
workers and members of a community to
rebuild social codes and develop systems of
support that could reduce anomic behavior.
Anomie Examples

There have been several examples of anomie in history,

according to Durkheim's definition. There are also examples
in contemporary society:
 A single mother with a part-time job who receives government
assistance but cannot afford to provide for her child and
herself and who has no other form of social support might
turn to crime as a way to meet her needs because her social
environment is anomic and fails to provide her with sufficient
security.
 People who are living in the aftermath of a major disaster or
war can turn to criminal activity in order to survive when
social infrastructure ceases to exist. This notably occurred
during the siege of Leningrad in the Second World War.
Anomie Examples
 People who grow up in poverty are less likely to
have the resources to extract themselves from
poverty without adequate social support both from
those in their community and their government.
Therefore these people can resort to crime as a
means of survival.
 NB-The specific nature of the crimes that arise
from anomic situations will vary, but usually these
crimes are a way for people to survive and provide
for their loved ones under circumstances that do
not give them any other legitimate options.
 Conclusion
 The word Anomie means lack of norms (normlessness) and refers
to a condition of tension and frustrations occurring within an
individual.
 The basic idea of the anomie or strain theory is that crime stems
from the lack of articulation or “fit” between two of the most
basic components of society: culture and social structure.
 This “lack of fit” creates strain within individuals, who
respond with various forms of deviance.
 Therefore people who find themselves at a disadvantage relative
to legitimate economic activities are motivated to engage in
illegitimate activities perhaps because of unavailability of jobs,
lack of job skills, education, and other factors.
 Conclusion

The theory is placed on two key concepts

namely:-
 Culturally formed goals which are

prescribed by the community as accepted

goals.
 Accepted means of achieving those goals

which indicate how an individual should

act in order to obtain these goals.
 Conclusion
 The prescribed way should be obtained
to conform, thus normal way to adapt to a
state of anomie without by passing the
accepted means.
 Most people adapt using this way and

they will never commit crime but some

people adapt in other words to reach to
the situation.
REFERENCES

 Jón Gunnar Bernburg (2014). Anomie and Crime.

Pp. A76-A86 in: Encyclopedia of Criminology and
Criminal Justice. Springer Science+Business
Media, New York.
 Durkheim É ([1897] 1951) Suicide: a study in
sociology. New York: The Free Press.
 Durkheim É ([1893] 1984) The division of labor in
society. New York: The Free Press.