Robert K. Merton's "Dream Machine"
An Explication of Merton's
"Social Structure and Anomie" (1938)
Introduction
Law-breaking is typically understood as something to be minimized and reduced. Our governments launch "wars against crime" and strive to lower crime rates. But what if someone told you that, just like schools and businesses, families and religion, criminality is actually healthy for a society? That without crime, society would fall apart?