![]() ![]() ![]() Their main criteria were low numbers in homicide, imprisoned people, and terrorism risk (Craggs and Marcus, 2020). Iceland, for example, was recently ranked as the safest nation in the world (Craggs and Marcus, 2020). Many countries annually report low crime rates and provide an exceptionally safe living environment in general. Nevertheless, several modern governmental systems challenge the ideas presented in functionalism. Whether in theory or practice, crime and deviance are essential parts of the functionalist system, which cannot be substituted. On top of that, some scholars argue that individuals in nature enjoy and gain interest in observing others, breaking the established cultural norms (Little, 2016). By allowing for some amount of rule and law violations, governments can shape and control the overall people well-being by fulfilling their obligations to control and coordinate in the forms of various sanctions (Little, 2016). Within the theory, they play a crucial role in society’s regulation and coordination aspects. Although this is true theoretically, people dismiss the practical form of order and control in functionalism, in which crime and deviance help to reinforce the importance of structure and maintain equilibrium (Asquith, 2017). Many question the relevance of such harmful behaviour with the state of social order as it is presented and believed to be non-sociological and anti-sociological (Cohen, 2018). However, functionalist scholars were able to unite these norm violations with the theory through social control and order.ĭespite the arising controversy, crime and deviance are crucial for the operation of the functionalism system. It is not only difficult to introduce deviance and crime classifying measures but also impossible to establish a universal norm because of numerous distinct cultures and communities (Little, 2016). ![]() ![]() The lines that separate these notions are fluid and challenging to draw. While deviance and crime are often connected together, the second has much more severe outcomes, which cannot be tolerated (Asquith, 2017). Similarly, crime is also excess to and a break of social and cultural values, but the difference lies in their perceived harmfulness (Little, 2016). Douglas (1966) (cited in Asquith, 2017, p.1), for instance, described deviance as a “matter out of place”. Scholars and theorists categorise the two as something that is not related to an established system or does not fit into it. Next, notions of crime and deviance themselves need to be categorised and differentiated. Issues of crime and deviance directly derive from the functionalist system’s components, which are responsible for ensuring continuous functionality and well-being. As a result, three fundamental societal needs were established, which are operation, regulation, and distribution, while governments were meant to enforce them (Turner, 2017). In response to the increasing success of engineering and technology, early supporters of functionalism attempted to connect and explain cultural aspects through natural sciences, such as biological theory (Turner, 2017). The structure functions to maintain interaction that is necessary for keeping political, economic, and cultural equilibrium in society (Fourie, 2016). According to Turner (2017, p.1), “functionalism was sociology’s first major theoretical and methodological approach for understanding the social universe”, which invented the idea of structures and systems of connections not only between humans but also among other organisms. This paper will analyse the functionalist approach towards the role of crime and deviance in society and evaluate its implications in the modern world.įirst, it is important to begin with an overall overview of the theory. While the functionalism theory has lost its widespread application and use, its ideas continue to guide many scholars even today. They believe that acts of crime and deviance play a significant role in fulfilling the societal needs and preventing the breakdown of an established structure (Turner, 2017). Functionalists discover and explain the issue by looking at society from a structural and systematic perspective, emphasising the role of order and interdependence within the system (Fourie, 2016). Others believe that it is the nature of a human being and of the human interaction as a whole. Some argue that it is due to contemporary economic and political approaches that prevent people prosperity and promote unethical conduct. The utopian vision of a peaceful world, in which all of the wars would end and violence vanish, has never been realised in practice. ![]()
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