Merton used Durkheim’s concept of anomie to form his own theory, http://paper-writing-service505425.mystrikingly.com called Strain Theory. Merton argued that anomie is not created by dramatic social change, but rather by a social structure that holds the same goals to all its members without giving them equal means to achieve them. Merton stated that all members of a capitalist society have goals such as “wealth, status and personal happiness�, (Merton, 1938) and that the means available to achieve this success are unevenly distributed throughout society. Merton believes that this lack of integration between society goals and what society realistically permits causes the less dominant or lower class group to suffer ‘strain’ which results in alternate or illegitimate ways of achieving those goals. (Merton, 1938)
Merton did not mean that everyone who was denied access to society’s goals became deviant. He presented five modes of adapting to strain. Conformity is the most common mode of adaptation. Individuals accept both the goals as well as the prescribed means for achieving those goals.
