Concept of Deviance and Social Change

The idea of deviance as an unacceptable divergence from social values and norms by criminals and others is a familiar concept, and it is therefore not surprising to learn that since "people typically react to serious deviance with collective outrage" it also serves to bring them together, "reaffirm[ing] the moral ties that bind them" (Macionis 135). But deviant behavior has other means of bringing people together. One of the most interesting aspects of the sixth chapters in both Macionis' and Berger's books is the idea that deviance can be responsible for significant social change. It can encourage social change by pushing at the moral boundaries of a society, according to Durkheim's theory, or it can bring about fundamental changes in a society's view of the world through the influence of what Weber called the "charisma" of extraordinary religious

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Category: Psychology - C