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Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions · Model answer

What is Merton’s view of relationship between social structure and deviance? In what sense is a deviant also a conformist?

  • UPSC 2008
  • Sociological Thinkers

Robert K. Merton ("Social Structure and Anomie", 1938) reversed the older view that deviance springs from defective individuals. For him, deviance is produced by the same social structure that produces conformity. That is why, in a precise sense, most deviants remain conformists.

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What the full answer covers

  • Social structure and deviance
  • In what sense is a deviant also a conformist?
  • Limits
  • Conclusion

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