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Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions · Model answer

Discuss the relation between social structure and anomie as presented by R. K. Merton. Attempt a critical appraisal of this analysis.

  • UPSC 1988
  • Sociological Thinkers

Robert K. Merton's essay "Social Structure and Anomie" (1938), later extended in Social Theory and Social Structure (1949; 1957), asked a sociological question: how do some social structures exert definite pressure on certain persons to engage in non-conforming rather than conforming conduct? He located anomie in the relation between culture and structure, not in insatiable…

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What the full answer covers

  • I. The relation Merton proposed
  • II. Critical appraisal
  • III. Indian evidence
  • Conclusion

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