Cloward and Ohlin Subculture Theory Flashcards
What did Cloward and Ohlin argue about access to opportunities?
They agree that working class youths are denied legitimate opportunities to achieve financial success, their deviance stems from how they respond to this situation
Does everyone respond in the same way?
- Not everyone in this situation turns to innovation and commits utilitarian crime
- Different subcultures respond in different ways
Are everyone given the same opportunity?
- Different subcultures not only are denied legitimate opportunity structures but also unequal access to illegitimate opportunity structures
What are the three types of deviant subcultures?
- Criminal
- Conflict
- Retreatist
What is a criminal subculture?
Criminal: Organized crime where criminals are able to socialize youth into their own criminal career which may allow them material success
What is a conflict subculture?
Conflict: Gangs organized by young people often involved with territory and gang culture
What is a retreatist subculture?
Retreatist: They were denied both legitimate or illegitimate means and go together to the margins of society to do substance abuse together
What are strengths of Cloward and Ohlin?
- Explains working class delinquency as a group response
- Explains non-utilitarian crime as a reaction to society
- Develops Cohen to explain different types of working class deviant subcultures
What are weaknesses of Cloward and Ohlin?
- Miller argues that working class have always had their own independent values and they do not accept mainstream values as superior
- South argues they have elements of two or more subcultures
- Matza found most young delinquents drifted in and out of it and were not strongly committed to their subculture
- They only look at working class male crime and do not tackle broader issues of class or gender
- They do not look at why they are denied legitimate means
- They ignore that girls do not react in the same way
