Merton's Strain Theory And The American Dream
The above statement was made by Barack Obama, President of the United States of America during his acceptance Speech, November 7 2012. In this essay I will set out to break down these statements and analyse the content critically using Merton’s strain theory and Durkheim’s concept of anomie. I will initially set out some of the core principles of strain theory and the concept of anomie. . Furthermore I will analyze the concept of ‘’The American Dream’’ As Merton’s theory akin to President Obama’s speech is set in the context of American society, and all the more particularly it was concerned with the American dream. It is in this context that Merton’s social objectives, and institutional standards, are best illustrated. It is the American Dream that everybody, paying little respect to class inception, religion, or ethnic attributes can succeed in procuring material riches. Nonetheless whilst the American Dream is absorbed with social objectives, the methods by which to accomplish it, institutional means, are not distributed through society. Case in point, not everyone in the public arena, particularly individualistic social orders, for example, America and Britain will have the capacity to get to higher gauges of training in view of the expense it involves. Predictably then this becomes a handicap in attaining success as one is lacking the institutional means needed. It then follows, the absence of accomplishment in the general public that physically compensates achievement,
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