SOCIOLOGY 170

DIFFERENTIAL OPPORTUNITY (associated with Cloward and Ohlin)

Cloward and Ohlin are influenced by Merton, but differ somewhat:
Transmission of criminal culture occurs in organized slums which
provide the structure of illigitimate opportunity for success They
identify emergence of new subcultures outside of "consensus" of lower
class (contra Miller) (eg, gangs)

Deviancy for them is seen as collective (with exception of retreatism)

They look at ways in which self-blame may be neutralized

CLoward and Ohlin (1959) previously argued that Merton's anomie theory
was inadequte because it looked at the dissociation between
culturally-prescribed goals and LEGITIMATE social means.  THis
assumed, said Cloward, that access to ILLEGITIMATE means was
more-or-less EQUALLY DISTRIBUTED throughout geographic areas.

So Cloward and Ohlin attempted to refine the tradition of strain
theory.  From MERTON (and Like COHEN) theysaw STRAIN as the outcome of
blocked access to socially-defined goals, and STRAIN contributed to
the genesis of delinquent subcultures.  BUT unlike MERTON and other
DIFFERENTIAL OPPORTUNITY theoriests, theyargued that access
toillegitimate roles (as opposed to legitimate roles) not freely
available to all.

They suggested that the CHICAGO TRADITION implicitely recognized in
their theories of SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION that illegal activities not
available to all (they cite Sutherland's PROFESSIONAL THIEF" work in
which "amateurs" quickly land in jail)---

They suggested that is, in a particular sub-culture,there are not role
models, or no access to illegal means available, a delinquent
sbuculture among adolescent will not devlop.

Threee forms of response patterns to strains they identified:

illegitimate response = delinquency--takes the form of criminal
apprenticeships, etc retreatist (drugs, etc) CONFLICT SUBCULTURE (eg,
fighting gangs)--(or POLTICAL ACTION gangs)

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