Is the concept of anomie relevant to contemporary society Essay Example

Is the concept of anomie relevant to contemporary society? Essay Is the construct of anomy relevant to modern-day society? The term anomy is a construct developed by Emile Durkheim ( 1858-1917 ) who was born into a Judaic Rabbinical household in the eastern Gallic state of Lorraine. He was a instructor of doctrine and exhausted clip in Germany where he was introduced to new progresss in psychological science and societal scientific discipline. He had a major influence and made a large impact to the survey of society, self-destruction, the division of labor, solidarity and faith and has frequently been considered and regarded as the laminitis of professional sociology. Durkheim foremost published his construct of anomy in his book â€Å"The Division of Labour in Society† ( 1893 ) . In his book he indicated regulations of how interaction between people was disintegrating and how they were unable to specify how to associate and interact with each other. Therefore he believed that anomy was a province where the outlooks of behaviors are non clearly defined and there is a break down in the system which is known as normlessness. Durkheim preferred to utilize the word mental unsoundness in topographic point of normlessness nevertheless he claimed that this normalness caused aberrant behaviors and subsequently could even ensue in depression and self-destruction as claimed in his book â€Å"Suicide† ( 1897 ) . The deficiency of these norms and values in society creates a province of deregulating and normlessness which is anomie. Peoples feel they have no counsel and miss the ability to make their single and corporate ends or aims. The rubric of this essay is a inquiry to reply â€Å"Is the construct of anomy relevant to modern-day society? † The following paragraphs will supply illustrations of replies to this inquiry and will demo that the construct of anomy is relevant to society today where the norms and values regulating societal interaction interrupt down and human behavior lacks ordinance. We will write a custom essay sample on Is the concept of anomie relevant to contemporary society? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Is the concept of anomie relevant to contemporary society? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Is the concept of anomie relevant to contemporary society? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The first illustration which shows that anomy is relevant to modern twenty-four hours society will concentrate on criminology and anomy. In criminology the construct of anomy is that the single chooses to perpetrate condemnable actions because this individual believes there is no ground non to make so. The person is normally alienated and isolated, feels worthless or insignificant and thinks it is unpointed and futile to seek and accomplish anything else as it is a waste of clip and attempt. Therefore normally this individual goes against the norm and values of society and sees there is no other alternate than to go involved in condemnable and noncompliant activities. Take a state of affairs which is classed as the norm in a functionalist society: the province provides instruction for kids, revenue enhancements are paid by the parents/families of these kids which are in bend used to fund their instruction and development. Normally these kids grow up good educated and able to obtain e mployment and accomplish their ends career wise. They become jurisprudence staying citizens, have a occupation, pay their revenue enhancements, settle down have their ain kids and so the rhythm continues. In the United Kingdom this is the norm for the bulk of the population and society in general presents. However take the state of affairs where anomy is involved in other words the fortunes the kid is being reared and populating in is non the norm in this scenario: The kid attends an under-performing school in a hapless country where the bulk of people are populating on province benefits. The kid does non see the point in traveling to school and merely attends the bare minimal sum of clip. The kid leaves school at the earliest chance and is non encouraged by household and friends to go on in instruction. The country the kid lives in has high offense rates and a gang civilization. This kid becomes a adolescent who sees their lone chance to acquire on in life is to fall in the local p ack and go involved with them and partakes in misdemeanor. The parents are unemployed, uninvolved and have condemnable histories so the adolescent sees the pack as their household. The adolescent becomes an grownup, has already spent clip in a immature offender’s establishment and has no opportunity of acquiring a occupation. This grownup is now unemployable and feels worthless, insignificant and has no sense of way and hence falls into a life of offense. In this instance the adolescent became involved in offense because they felt there was no other option or chance available to them. This first illustration shows how the construct of anomy is relevant in society today. In the United Kingdom reasonably late there have been two cases which show the construct of anomy is relevant in modern twenty-four hours society. The anomies being referred to is public violences and protests where rioting is a consequence of anomy and a signifier of anomy. Rioting by English and Welsh citizens is a statutory offense in England and Wales and is documented in Sections 1 to 5 of the â€Å"Public Order Act 1986† . A public violence as defined by the â€Å"Oxford English Dictionary† is ‘A wild or disruptive perturbation created by a big figure of people. In this illustration the accelerator for the public violences in Tottenham was non the shot of Mark Duggan on the 4ThursdayAugust 2011 as was presented by the imperativeness. The existent cause of the public violences was the confrontation between a demonstrator and a police officer outside the constabulary station in Tottenham at 7.20pm on Saturday 6th of August. These actions caused a province of anomy that allowed the demonstrators the ability to take out their defeats in a manner that does non match to societal norms and this was the start of the Tottenham public violences in North London. When society becomes more organic and complex like modern twenty-four hours society is people are no longer reliant on one another and hence societal bonds become impersonal. In this illustration there was a dislocation of societal norms where norms were no longer able to command the actions of members in society. Durkheim himself observed that societal periods of break for illustration economic depression as was the instance in 2011 was frequently responsible for greater anomy with higher degrees of offense, self-destruction and aberrance. With mention to the Tottenham public violences in North London there is a clear association with Durkheim’s construct of anomy. The confrontation between demonstrators and the constabulary was the accelerator to get down the public violences bu t it was non the cause which was a corporate build-up of grounds and issues. With the state in an economic crises and high grades of agitation in the community due to the shot of this guiltless immature adult male the degrees of alienated behavior were greatly increased. It could be argued that the norms of the state of affairs had broken down, as there was confusion over whether or non Mark Duggan had even shot at the constabulary. As the public violences escalated, we can besides associate to the fact that there was a deficiency of regulations to steer people, and hence, normlessness broke out, which as Durkheim stated led to deviant behavior. This gave rise to self-interest and tempted persons to fall in in the public violences on the footing that it is hard to catch an person in a big rabble. Deviant behavior such as robbery and â€Å"copycat† rioting in other metropoliss in the state besides occurred increasing the degrees of alienated behavior. The terrorizing velocity with which the force spread from London to other large metropoliss this clip was implicative of a far more complex and profound sense of societal disaffection and isolation. Britain’s disturbed and deeply unequal society is one in which many people feel they have no interest or hereafter, this feeling of helplessness fuels anomie. The other recent illustration of alienated behavior relevant to modern-day society was a series of student protests in 2010 in the United Kingdom with the chief protests in London. The aims of these protests were to oppose planned disbursement cuts in farther instruction and the additions in pupil tuition fees. The accelerator in this case was the consequences of the authorities reappraisal of support for higher instruction in England. Harmonizing to pupil groups promises made by politicians during election runs had been broken. Higher instruction would go less come-at-able for immature people. Future pupils would stop up with high debts holding to pay off these debts over longer periods in clip go forthing them in debt for longer during their big life. The perceptual experience was that intended cuts to education were inordinate and would damage the quality of higher instruction. It would give pupils higher debts, and run promises made by politicians were perceived as broken promise s. The first major protest organized by the National Union of Students ( NUS ) and the University and College Union ( UCU ) involved up to fifty 1000 demonstrators who marched through cardinal London nevertheless several hundred left the March to assail and busy the Conservative Party central office. The breaking away group caused a divide within the pupil motion for utilizing such tactics every bit good as animadversion and unfavorable judgment from the authorities and constitution. On the twenty-fourth November the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts ( NCAFC ) requested a mass walk-out and presentations to be held, with businesss taking topographic point at campuses throughout the UK. Over a four hebdomad period there were a figure of Marches in cardinal London where constabularies used kettling as a manner to incorporate the protestors, this resulted in violent confrontation with dissenters and constabularies. Kettling is a tactic used by constabulary to incorporate and cordo n off an country whereby the protestors are merely allowed to go out by the constabulary which means the protestors are held in a individual country without being able to hold entree to nutrient drink or lavatory installations, the continuance of which is decided by the constabulary force involved.The pupil protests did non run into their aims and the authorities reforms went in front. Protests ended in pandemonium, with violent clangs between constabulary officers and trouble makers who hijacked the Marches, taking to 100s of arrests.There was a batch of unfavorable judgment of both sides due to these incidents of hooliganism and force every bit good as the behaviour of the constabulary in utilizing inordinate force. On both sides in this scenario the behaviour seen and reported could be classed as another illustration of alienated behaviour in modern twenty-four hours society. In decision is anomie a driver in respects to offense and violent public violences such as portrayed in these illustrations? Anomie is linked to conditions of impotence and disaffection, it feeds from but goes beyond anarchy. Many boisterous members of society are besides to the full embedded in comfy societal places, or fighting to fall in, to be portion of their society. Their interrupting the jurisprudence doesn’t needfully intend they are alienated, which is, detached from mainstream values, nevertheless this issue is problematic. In the first illustration with respect to the kid being born into a life of offense and aberrance this goes against the norm and shows the construct of anomy is relevant in modern society. With the public violences there are two decisions which can be considered. The city manager of London Boris Johnson dismissal of the public violences holding ‘sociological explanations’ is problematic. While some people think the rioting was caused by the eroding of morality, weak or non-existent parenting and non adequate constabulary is besides possibly problematic. However for others the 2011 public violences in Tottenham were a effect of economic instability that created a sense of anomy and weakness and were a corporate With the pupil protests it’s possible that pupils did nt experience that they had anybody to turn to their choler to with respect to higher instruction cuts and additions in costs This is a map of the dislocation in trust in authorities, a map of anomy and defeat. This can be summed up in the statement by the NUS leader Education should open doors, but the authorities is banging them shut ( Liam Burns ) . In decision these three illustrations portray different types of people in society – the kid, the grownup rioter, the pupil dissenter and all of them show the construct of anomy is relevant to modern-day society. Word Count = 1817 Bibliography Durkheim, E. ( 1893/1984 )The Division of Labour in Society.New York: Free Imperativeness Durkheim, E. ( 1897/1951 )Suicide. New York: Free Imperativeness â€Å"Public Order Act 1986† Sections 1 to 5 ( Online ) Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.legislation.gov.uk [ Accessed 9 January 2015 ] National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts ( NCAFC ) ( Online ) Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/eusapolicy/internal/ncafc/ [ Accessed 10 January 2015 ] National Union of Students ( Online ) Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.nus.org.uk/ [ Accessed 10 January 2015 ] University and College Union ( Online ) Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ucu.org.uk/ www.ucu.org.uk [ Accessed 10 January 2015 ]