TY - JOUR ID - 5606 TI - THE VIRTUES AND VICES OF THE AMERICAN DREAM JO - a scientific journal of ilam culture JA - FARHANG LA - en SN - 2676-5942 AU - mousa nejad, ali AD - Y1 - 2015 PY - 2015 VL - 14 IS - 46,47 SP - 209 EP - 218 KW - crime KW - Americam Dream KW - Institutional Anomie KW - Institutiona Balance Of power DO - N2 -       THE VIRTUES AND VICES OF THE AMERICAN DREAM STEVEN F. MESSNER & RICHARD ROSENFELD TRANSLATED BY: ALI MOUSANEJAD Abstract   . In their text crime and the American Dream, M essner and Rosenfel attempt to address an often neglected component of Merton’teory of “ social structure and anomy” , namely why the united   stares has such a high rate of crime. Messner and Rosenfel present an “institutional anomic” theory,   which address the issue of anomic at the societal level. Like Merton,Messner and Rosenfeld seek to   explain the excessively high rate of crime in the united states. They accomplish this goal by pointing to   the “American Dream”. Messner and Rosenfeld draw heavily from Merton’s anomie theory, asserting   that the high rate of crime in the united states stems partly from the fact that our society encourages   everyone to pursue the goal of monetary success but places little value on the legitimate means for   achieving that success. In other words, the legitimate, culturally accepted norms are sacrified for the   goal itself, which becomes larger than life.   However, Messner and osenfeld also extend Merton’s theory. Primarily,they maintain that the cultural   emphasis on monetary success parallels the notion that the economy pervades and dominates every   other institution in America, including the family, education, and polity. They argue that the dominance   of the economy interferes with the proper functioning of these institutions to such a great extent that   they can no longer effectively and adequately socialize individuals or even sanctions deviant behavior.   Messner and Rosenfel argue that if other aspects of American life were emphasized over material   success, the United States might not have such a high crime rate. They point to the mixed economies of   wester Europe and Japan as examples of societies tha ensue that a level of economic well-being is not   completely dependent upon economic performance, as it is in the Unites States.   Although their “ institutional anomie” theory is still undergoing empirical testing, their theory provides   important consideration of societal differences in crime rates. Additionally. Their approach forces   Americans to answer some tough questions about the core values that underline the American Dream.   In other words, maybe we should ask whether this emphasis placed on monetary success ( seemingly, by   any means necessary ) is something we really want for our society.   KEY WORDS:   Crime, Americam Dream, Institutional Anomie, Institutiona Balance Of power. UR - https://www.farhangeilam.ir/article_5606.html L1 - https://www.farhangeilam.ir/article_5606_ba31db61a0b7f258d771945d06508ced.pdf ER -