The Rigid functional structuralism

Rigid functional structuralism can lead to negative deviances and force heinous crimes

Introduction
Deviance from the social norms leads to the procurement of criminal acts. The validity of this
statement can be checked and balanced differently when we examine the root causes of various
deviances. Expert of sociology connects social deviance with various theories of the sociology.
General patterns of the studies suggest that social strain theory and Structural functionalism
present in the society sometimes plays the role of a catalyst in the appearance of criminal traits or
perfect social behavior in the behavior of a person (Crossman, 2018).
The basic concepts of sociology advocate the social arrangements made with the help of
structural functionalism acts as an ideal tool to regulate a crime-free society. It is also believed
that the introduction of structural functionalism attracts a collective consciousness in the mind of
an individual and it acts as a positive motivating factor for an individual to become a part of a
group adhered to a similar set of social norms and preceding laws. The present paper is an
attempt to check the worth of this statement under the purview of the development of anomie
caused by structural functionalism. To organize this semi-systematic study we will try to explore
the subject under a hypothesis that goes as follows (Gunnar, 2012).
Structural functionalism clubbed together with anomie has this potential to act as a strong
motivator behind the criminal behavior. It can also instigate a group of individuals to commit
mass crimes because anomie acts as a strong justification for a group.

Goals set by structural-functionalism plays a crucial role in the procurement of criminal
tendencies
The theories behind structural-functionalism define an action mechanism associated with this
concept. According to this action mechanism structural-functionalism appeals to the collective
consciousness of a human being, this collective consciousness draws an invisible line between
good conduct and bad conduct. Every human being needs a social acceptance, the practices that
take place under the practice of functional structuralism draws an invisible line of moral and
immoral conduct for an average human being (Devasia, 2019). It is very important to understand
the fact that social acceptance is an anti-dote for the development of deviance in most of the
cases. Structural functionalism also creates collective goals for any given society, these
collective goals bring in uniformity in the culture and mitigate the factors that can cause
deviance (Alex, 2015).
Since structural-functionalism caters to the collective consciousness, it demands a consistent
perfection in its attributes. Any bias in the structural-functionalism can give rise to conflicts at a
subconscious level and act as a trigger for a probable crime (Bastian, 2016). For a better
understanding of structural functionalism, we need to understand about the interference of two
other theories. The theory of social strain and social labeling can also be considered as an output
of imperfect structural functionalism. Any imperfection in the functional structure of a society
can trigger anomie among an individual or a group of individuals and trigger deviance that can
be justified with the help of anomie (Huerta, 2012).
Researcher Pamela Huerta researched the title “Mexico’s “war on drugs”: A successful strategy.
Under this research, she pinpointed some reasons behind the gruesome acts of violence. She

explored two stages of the social structure of the same society. Under the first structure, the
disparity between the rich and the poor population emerged as a trigger for the individuals who
became a part of the underworld. She indicated the dramatic rise in the figure of the drug mafia
killings during a span ranging from 2001 to 2015. According to her, anomie among a section of
poor individuals who failed in finding a space in the organized industrial sector forced them to
adopt this new lucrative trade where profit margins were high. In the year 2001, the number of
killings was confined to 1000 in a calendar year (Huerta, 2012). However, the materialistic
success of Mafia lords in the region created parallel structural functionalism in society. The
collective consciousness of this new section of society perceived crime as the means to meet
with the glorious ends. Murders and killings became a utilitarian way of gaining pseudo power
over the others. As a resultant in the year 2015, Mexican drug mafias killed 15000 people in a
calendar year. It is an extreme case, in the year 2001, some individuals started a crime syndicate
because of the deviances, and however, crime became a norm for that society within 15 years
(Huerta, 2012).
During recent years, the young population of Morocco presented another example of deviance
caused by anomie. Social experts and media experts described this social phenomenon under the
heading of “Youth in Morocco rebel without a cause”. In the year 2018, a culture of
cyberbullying came in an existence, this culture divided Mexican youths into two parts,
individuals belonging to the lower strata of the society started to bully rich teenagers (Yassani,
2012). The seriousness of this bullying escalated to the next level when serious group clashes
took place and act like stabling and stone-pelting became common. Later on, when the
authorities resolved the issues and tried to figure out the reasons behind this bullying and

violence, they realized that it was the culture of the consumerism that acted as the trigger point
(Robert, 2011).
It is very important to draw a comparative study of the behaviors of teenagers in two different
countries that are poles apart. For instance, consumerism is an integral part of the American
identity, however, we never heard of any violence caused by consumerism in the USA. One of
the major reasons behind this success of consumerism as the enabler of collective consciousness
can be attributed to the fact that consumerism acted as a motivation for the youths to perform
better . The society in Morocco, on the other hand, promotes human values and culture of the
sacrifice as the motto of life. The structural functions of this society set noble conduct as the
ultimate goal. An entry of “consumerism” as the ultimate goal in the collective consciousness of
the young population of Morocco created a clash of ideologies that resulted in deviance.
Conclusion
The hypothesis assumed by us stands true, any flaw or adulteration in the ideologies of
functional structuralism can lead towards strong deviance among a particular section of the
society and give them a reason to justify their criminal acts by creating an impression that they
are setting new norms for the society. The drug mafia killings in Mexico are a poignant example
corroborating the above-mentioned statement. The example of Morocco gives us an account of
the violation of the basic values propagated by the social structures of society. It defines the
invisible line of good or bad conduct drawn by any functional structuralism. The comparative
study shows that consumerism is a positive trait in the US society, however, the same became
evil in the society of Morocco.

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