Robert K. Merton's "Dream Machine"
An Explication of Merton's
"Social Structure and Anomie" (1938)
Similar to Durkheim's argument, thinkers of the Chicago School of sociology, such as Ernest Burgess, argued that the disorganized areas of cities which attracted criminal behavior could be a social good, within limits. On the one hand, such disorganization was an inevitable part of a city's growth: if it did not occur, the city would not be expanding and would be stagnant! On the other hand, while disorganized areas were prime targets for vice, they also gave rise to new progressive groups: missions, bohemians, and utopian communities that would not be tolerated in stricter areas of the city. Therefore, dis-organization was necessary for society's re-organization; and society's allowing for crime was required in order to allow for social progress.