NАTIONАL LАW INSTITUTЕ

UNIVЕRSITY, BHOPАL

CRIMINOLOGY

THIRD TRIMЕSTЕR

FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE WITH RESPECT

TO THEORIES OF EMILE DURKHEIM AND R.K
MERTON AND THEIR RELEVANCE IN INDIA

Submitted to: - Submitted by: -

Prof. P.K. Shukla Durgesh Nandan Yadav

Ms. Riddhima Dixit 2018BALLB72

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 CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...............................................................................3
INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................4
EMILE DURKHEIM’S THEORY ..................................................................6
CRITICISM OF DURKHEIM’S THEORY ................................................8
R.K MERTON’S STRAIN THEORY ............................................................9
MODES OF ADAPTATION .....................................................................10
CRITICISM OF MERTON’S STRAIN THEORY ...................................12
RELEVANCE OF FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE IN INDIA ............14
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................16
BIBLIOGRAPHY..........................................................................................17

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my Teacher Dr. P.K Shukla
and Ms. Riddhima Dixit who has been a great mentor and has been a constant support
throughout, as well as our Director Prof. (Dr.) V. Vijayakumar who gave me the
golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic Functionalist Perspective
with Respect to Theories of Emile Durkheim and R.K Merton and their relevance in
India which also helped me in doing a lot of research and I came to know about so
many new things I am really thankful to them.

I am also thankful to the library administration for the provision of necessary books
and texts needed for the completion of this project.

Lastly, I would also like to thank my parents and friends who helped me a lot in
finalizing this project within the limited time frame.

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 INTRODUCTION

The functionalist perspective, also called functionalism, is one of the major theoretical
perspectives in sociology. It has its origins in the works of Emile Durkheim, who was
especially interested in how social order is possible or how society remains relatively
stable. As such, it is a theory that focuses on the macro-level of social structure, rather
than the micro-level of everyday life.

Functionalism interprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability
of the whole society. Society is more than the sum of its parts; rather, each part of society
is functional for the stability of the whole. Durkheim actually envisioned society as an
organism, and just like within an organism, each component plays a necessary part, but
none can function alone, and one experiences a crisis or fails, other parts must adapt to
fill the void in some way.

Within functionalist theory, the different parts of society are primarily composed of social
institutions, each of which is designed to fill different needs, and each of which has
particular consequences for the form and shape of society. The parts all depend on each
other. The core institutions defined by sociology and which are important to
understanding for this theory include family, government, economy, media, education,
and religion. According to functionalism, an institution only exists because it serves a
vital role in the functioning of society. If it no longer serves a role, an institution will die
away. When new needs evolve or emerge, new institutions will be created to meet them.

The functionalist perspective achieved its greatest popularity among American

sociologists in the 1940s and 50s. While European functionalists originally focused on
explaining the inner workings of social order, American functionalists focused on
discovering the functions of human behavior. Among these American functionalist
sociologists is Robert K. Merton, who divided human functions into two types: manifest
functions, which are intentional and obvious, and latent functions, which are unintentional

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and not obvious. The manifest function of attending a church or synagogue, for instance,
is to worship as part of a religious community, but its latent function may be to help
members learn to discern personal from institutional values.

Functionalism emphasizes the consensus and order that exist in society, focusing on social
stability and shared public values. From this perspective, disorganization in the system,
such as deviant behavior, leads to change because societal components must adjust to
achieve stability. When one part of the system is not working or is dysfunctional, it affects
all other parts and creates social problems, which leads to social change.

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 EMILE DURKHEIM’S THEORY
Durkheim is often seen as the founding father of functionalist sociology, and his ideas about
deviance must be understood in the context of his views about society as a whole. He had an
organic analogy of society; he perceived it as akin to a human body: the various organs
(institutions) had to function correctly for the whole to be in good health. Although excessive
deviance could be symptomatic of an unhealthy or dysfunctional society, perhaps surprisingly,
Durkheim argued that deviance itself was functional, normal and inevitable.

Emile Durkheim was concerned with the question of how certain societies maintain internal
stability and survive over time. He proposed that such societies tend to be segmented, with
equivalent parts held together by shared values, common symbols or systems of exchanges.
Durkheim used the term mechanical solidarity to refer to these types of "social bonds, based
on common sentiments and shared moral values, that are strong among members of pre-
industrial societies". In modern, complex societies, members perform very different tasks,
resulting in a strong interdependence. Based on the metaphor above of an organism in which
many parts function together to sustain the whole, Durkheim argued that complex societies are
held together by organic solidarity, i.e. "social bonds, based on specialization and
interdependence, that are strong among members of industrial societies".

Durkheim argued that in a functioning society there is a collective conscience into which,
various social institutions, the vast majority in a society have been socialized. One of the ways
in which this consensus is reinforced is through the policing of the margins: the formal and
informal sanctions used to either reward those who conform or punish those who deviate.
Indeed, our shared disapproval of deviant behavior strengthens our social solidarity. Durkheim
argues that even in a "society of saints" there would still be deviance. In other words, as
deviance describes any behavior that goes against the norms, values and expectations of a
society, all societies have deviance, even though the sorts of behaviour considered deviant
might vary from society to society.

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Deviance also facilitates social change. If people never deviated from a society's norms and
values then society would never change; and change can be a very good thing (although
functionalists would promote incremental, organic change rather than radical change). An
organic process of social change is started by society responding positively to deviant
behaviour. Slowly, the deviant behaviour becomes normal and, among other changes, this can
lead to alterations in the law.

Durkheim’s argued that crime is inevitable and normal in a society because:

1. Not every member of society can be equally committed to the collective sentiments
(the shared values and moral beliefs of society). Since individuals are exposed to
different influences and circumstances.

2. Durkheim says that even in a ‘society of saints’ populated by perfect individuals

deviance would still exist. The general standards of behaviour would be so high that
the slightest slip would be regarded as a serious offence. Thus the individual who
simply showed bad taste, or was merely impolite, would attract strong disapproval.

3. Durkheim argues that all social change begins with some form of deviance. In order
for changes to occur, yesterday’s deviance becomes today’s norm.

Crime performs positive functions in a society. These are as follows:

1. Social Regulation (reaffirming the boundaries of acceptable behaviour) – Each time

the Police arrest a person, they are making it clear to the rest of society that the
particular action concerned is unacceptable. In contemporary society newspapers also
help to perform the publicity function, with their often-lurid accounts of criminal acts.
In effect, the courts and the media are ‘broadcasting’ the boundaries of acceptable
behaviour, warning others not to breach the walls of the law (and therefore society)

2. Social Integration – A second function of crime is to actually strengthen social

cohesion. For example, when particularly horrific crimes have been committed the

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 whole community joins together in outrage and the sense of belonging to a community
is therefore strengthened

3. Adaption and change– A further action performed by the criminals is to provide a

constant test of the boundaries of permitted action. When the law is clearly out of step
with the feelings and values of the majority, legal reform is necessary. Criminals
therefore, perform a crucial service in helping the law to reflect the wishes of the
population and legitimizing social change.

Durkheim argued that too much or too little deviance was bad for society, suggesting there was
either too much or too little social order and control. The increased isolation and privatized
nature of modern industrialized societies increased the likelihood of deviance. Durkheim also
argued that when societies underwent rapid change there would be increased deviance because
of something he called anomie: normlessness or an absence of social control and cohesion.

CRITICISM OF DURKHEIM’S THEORY:

 Durkheim talks about crime in very general terms. He theorizes that ‘crime’ is
necessary and even functional but he doesn’t distinguish between different types of
crime. It could be that some crimes may be so harmful that they will always be
dysfunctional rather than functional.
 Durkheim states that crime is necessary in a society but he doesn’t state which level of
crime is the right amount for the society.
 Durkheim suggest that the criminal justice system benefits everyone in society by
punishing criminals and reinforcing the acceptable boundaries of behavior. However,
Marxist and Feminist analysis of crime demonstrates that not all criminals are punished
equally and thus crime and punishment benefit the powerful for than the powerless.
 Interactionists would suggest that whether or not a crime is functional cannot be
determined objectively; surely it depends on an individual’s relationship to the crime.
 Durkheim’s theory also doesn’t recognize that crime can weaken solidarity and
increase isolation.

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 R.K MERTON’S STRAIN THEORY

In Merton's theory of strain, societies are composed of two core aspects: culture and social
structure. It is in the realm of culture that our values, beliefs, goals, and identities are
developed. These are developed in response to the existing social structure of society,
which is supposed to provide the means for us to achieve our goals and live out positive
identities. However, often, the goals that are popular within our culture are not in balance
with the means made available within the social structure. When this happens, strain can
occur, and according to Merton, deviant behavior is likely to follow.
As a structural functionalist, Merton perceived crime as a result of a society that was in
disequilibrium. 1Strain theory argues that crime results when individuals are unable to get
what they want through legitimate channels. In such cases, individuals become frustrated,
and they may try to satisfy their wants through illegitimate channels or strike out at others
in their anger.2
According to his theory, when people cannot attain the "legitimate goal" of economic
success through what society defines as the "legitimate means"—dedication and hard
work—they may turn to other illegitimate means of attaining that goal. For Merton, this
explained why people with less money and items that demonstrated material success
would steal. The cultural value on economic success is so great that the social force of it
pushes some to attain it or the appearance of it through any means necessary.
Durkheim's ideas were applied to criminology by sociologists Robert Merton in his theory
of anomie. Merton used a modified version of the concept of enemy to fit social, economic
and cultural conditions found in modern U.S society. He founded two elements of cultural
impact to produce potentially anomic conditions: culturally defined goals and socially
approved means for obtaining them socially permissible means include hard work
education and thrift.
Classic strain theory argues that everyone in the United States, poor as well as rich, is
encouraged to strike for success. This encouragement comes from parent, schools and
government officials, religious figures and the mass media. Merton argues that the

1
Moyer, I. (2001). Criminological theories, pp.61.
2
Sheley, J. (2000). Criminology. 3rd ed., pp.349.

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primary success goes in the United States is money whereas Cohen asserts that individuals
are encouraged to pursue a somewhat broader goal of middle-class status. That is,
individuals are urged to see the financial success, reputation and lifestyle associated with
the middle class. Some people seek to become a part of middle class, whereas other simply
desire monetary success. Most lower-class individuals, however, are to desire only
monetary success. These theories recognize that not all the people emphasize on success
on monetary terms but a significant number of people in all social classes develop high
social goals.
Although everyone is encouraged to strive for success, large segment of the population is
prevented from achieving success through legitimate channels in the United States. One
is supposed to achieve success through hard work, careful planning, self-denial and
honesty. Through these means one first obtains a good education and then a good job.
Classic strain theory however argues that last segments of the population especially lower-
class individuals are prevented from achieving success through these channels. Low class
individuals are socialized in families that do not place a high value on qualities as hard
work learning and self-denial, as well as other traits for successful goal achievement low
class families do not provide the adolescence with the instruction and support necessary
to do well in schools. These individuals often encounter discrimination in the school
system and other middle-class environment low class family is lack the money to finance
and advanced education for their children and like the finances and connections to set up
their children in business or a profession As a result, low class individual open try to
achieve success through illegitimate channels and this creates strain or frustration in them.

MODES OF ADAPTATION
Merton proposed that different ways existed for people to resolve the strains generated
from the inability to attain success. Merton observed that most of the people conform to
the cultural goals of the society but there were many other who were unable to cope up
with the strain of their situation. There was a disjunction between means and goal. This
disjunction changed their cultural goals and forced them not to rely upon institutionalized
means. Merton delineated five kinds of adaptation:

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 1. Conformity: In this mode of adaptation, people conform to both, cultural goals
and institutional means. They do not deviate for achieving economic success.
2. Innovation: According to Merton, the adaptation most closely linked to crime is
innovation.3 Here, the individual continues to accept the cultural goal but reject
the legitimate means to obtain such success. They innovate the means through
which they can achieve economic success. White collar criminals, robber Barons,
prostitutes, drug-sellers, etc. are examples of such a mode of adaptation. Cohen
stated that such an adaptation does not explains juvenile delinquency.
Delinquents do not steal because they want money but the steal for “the hell of
it.”
3. Ritualistic: Here, the individual continues to accept institutional means but
lowers his success goals to the point that it can satisfied or abandons the success
of goals altogether. They are contended and pursue the same goal but they avoid
taking risks and therefore they are not viewed as criminals.
4. Retreatism: Individual rejects both institutional means and cultural influences
emphasis on monetary success and middle-class status. Merton argues that the
individual withdraws or retreats from society becoming for example an alcoholic,
drug addict or a vagrant. Therefore, they relinquished faith in cultural goals and
conventional norms and are in a situation that they make dramatic responses.
5. Rebellion: They reject both goals and legitimate means and substitute a new goal
and means in their place. They try to change the existing system and propose to
substitute a new set of goals and means. Cohen connect this mode of adaptation
to delinquency by stating that delinquent subculture accords higher status to
individuals who engage in violence, threat Bengali some and activities which are
not in conformity with the existing cultural goals.

3
Ibid., 352

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 Modes of Adaptation Cultural Goals Institutionalized means
I. Conformity + +
II. Innovation + -
III. Ritualism - +
IV. Retreatism - -
V. Rebellion +/- +/-

In the aforementioned table, (+) signifies acceptance, (-) signifies rejection and (+/-)
signifies rejection of prevailing values and substitution of new values.

CRITICISM OF MERTON’S STRAIN THEORY:

1. One of the major criticisms of Merton’s theory is that it is a specific theory. Merton
has failed to generalize this theory as he did not operationally define his concepts
and ignore present set of propositions that form a logical deduction system.
Merton fails to indicate how much strain is necessary for anomie to occur.
2. No attempts were made by Merton to apply his theory to women. Money and
economic success were not so important to women. They were traditionally
socialized to desire above all else marriage and family. This was in contradiction
to the theory given by Merton.
3. A number of researchers have claimed that lower class individuals have low
aspirations for success and therefore are not under any strain. Hyman was the first
to raise this argument. Lower class individuals have lower level of aspiration than
middle class individual, that is, lower class individuals on an average desire less
education, less money and less prestigious occupation than do middle class
individuals.
4. Lind smith and Gagnon criticized Merton’s assumption that drug addicts in the
retreatism fails to gain economic success through institutionalized means. 4They
pointed out that persons in many occupations such as medical profession have
ready access to drugs and continue to perform successfully and achieve economic

4
Moyer, I. (2001). Criminological theories, pp.64.

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 success because they are using drugs
5. Merton strain theory fails to explain The White-Collar crimes committed by
affluent people who are economically sufficient and have already achieve their
cultural goals.

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 RELEVANCE OF FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE IN INDIA

As we know, India is a culturally diverse country and a cumulation of different social

structure. Most of the sociological theories have little or no application in India but still
the sociological theories given by sociologists are important to understand the change in
society.
Emile Durkheim and R.K. Merton have mentioned suicide in their theories.
Durkheim chose to study the phenomenon of suicide because it is relatively common
across various societies and the amount of data available for study is huge. According to
Durkheim, suicide was not actually an act done intentionally, but an act done advisedly,
meaning the action will result in his/her death with death may or may not being his/her
ultimate goal. Though Durkheim believed that social causes played a greater role in
motivating people to commit suicide, he also pointed out two extra-social causes that can
influence a person on taking such decision. The first extra-social cause is the inner
psychological inclination of the individual towards the idea of suicide which may vary
from person to person. The second cause is the nature of external physical environment
like climate or nature which will indirectly have the same effect.
R.K. Merton has mentioned suicide in Retreatism, a mode of adaptation to strain. It has
been said as the ultimate retreat from strain. Using the findings of Emile Durkheim and
applying them to the context of farmer suicides in India, we can say that most of the
suicides of farmers comes under two categories of suicides as defined by Durkheim;
anomic and egoistic. Anomic suicide is the kind of suicide committed by an individual
when a sudden, unexpected event takes place in the life of the individual. In the case of
farmers, they commit suicides due to the unexpected events; the unexpected event of crop
failure due to some natural disasters or the unsupportive response from the part of
bureaucracy and government who are obliged to protect and safeguard the agrarian
community, who forms the back bone of the society.
These suicides can also be characterized as egoistic suicides because farmers kill
themselves due to the isolation and alienation that they feel after a crisis. According to
Durkheim, egoistic suicides are committed due to alienation of an individual from the rest
of the society. Alienation includes the breakage of social ties, isolation from other

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individuals, weakening of the social bonds etc. As mentioned before, a farmer, who has
lost everything, will find himself as a loser and thinks that he is no more an asset to the
society or his family.
Suicide committed by the Indian farmers due to unfavorable or unexpected means such
as crop failure natural disaster and unsupportive response from the part of bureaucracy
and government can also be seen from the point of view of R.K. Merton. Farmers are
naturally under an economic strain. This leads them to commit suicide which has been
said as the ultimate retreat by sociologists.
Durkheim has stated that crime performs following positive function in a society: (1)
Social Regulation, (2) Social Integration and (3) Adaption and change.
In India, the Indian Penal Code, Code of Civil Procedure, Code of Criminal Procedure are
made, and acts such as the Prevention of Child from Sexual Offences, 2012, the Immoral
Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, etc. have been enacted for regulating criminal behaviour
and reaffirming to the society the boundaries of acceptable social behaviour, thus
performing the function of social regulation.
After the 2012 Delhi Rape Case5, The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 (Nirbhaya
Act) was passed by the legislature, which provides for amendment of Indian Penal Code,
Indian Evidence Act, and Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 on laws related to sexual
offences. As we know, the crime committed was horrific and brutal, the public reacted
aggressively by holding candle marches, making poster, banners and verbally and
pictorially condemning the criminal act. This led to an increase in social cohesion in the
society.
After the case of Vishaka V. State of Rajasthan6, in 1997, the Supreme Court passed a
landmark judgment laying down guidelines to be followed by establishments in dealing
with complaints about sexual harassment. Vishaka Guidelines were stipulated by the
Supreme Court of India, in Vishaka and others v State of Rajasthan case in 1997,
regarding sexual harassment at workplace. The court stated that these guidelines were to
be implemented until legislation is passed to deal with the issue. This case led to a change
in laws in India and India experienced a social change after that case.

5
(2017) 3 SCC 719
6
AIR 1997 SC 3011

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 CONCLUSION
The functional perspective given by the theories of Emile Durkheim provided us with the
answers to why crimes are committed, what functions crime performs on the society, and
what is the resulting event when a crime is committed. Whereas Merton’s Strain theory
states that an individual is bound to change his cultural goals when he is not able to fulfill
his economic goal through legitimate means, hence providing the reason an individual
commits a crime. Merton also states the reaction of an individual who is unable to achieve
his cultural goals by giving “Modes of Adaptations”.

Thought the theories given by Durkheim and Merton don’t apply directly on the society
but on a close examination it can be seen that the change in laws, rules and regulations is
in such a way which conform to the theories given by them. The Strain Theory applies in
a developing country like India where the lower and middle class strive for economic
development. The positive functions of crime stated by Durkheim conforms to the history
of criminal laws in India. Therefore, the functionalist perspective has an important
contribution in the field of sociology and criminology.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Siegel, L. (2000). Criminology. 7th ed. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth/Thomson

Learning, pp.200-206.

 Lilly, J., Cullen, F. and Ball, R. (2002). Criminological theory. 3rd ed. London:
SAGE, pp.48-54.

 Sheley, J. (2000). Criminology. 3rd ed. Australia: Wadsworth Pub. Co., pp.349-
355.

 Moyer, I. (2001). Criminological theories. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage

Publications, pp.61-65.

 Legalservicesindia.com. (2019). Legal Services India - Laws in India, Supreme

court judgments, lawyers in India. [online] Available at:
http://www.legalservicesindia.com [Accessed 11 Sept. 2019].

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