Home›Open Questions›Is Robert Merton's strain-theory reformulation of anomie a faithful development of Émile Durkheim's original concept, or a substantially different theory that merely borrows Durkheim's term?Open QuestionsIs Robert Merton's strain-theory reformulation of anomie a faithful development of Émile Durkheim's original concept, or a substantially different theory that merely borrows Durkheim's term?Citation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextSociety and Culture Atlas. "Is Robert Merton's strain-theory reformulation of anomie a faithful development of Émile Durkheim's original concept, or a substantially different theory that merely borrows Durkheim's term?." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://society.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/oq-anomie-durkheim-merton-continuity.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextSociety and Culture Atlas. (n.d.). Is Robert Merton's strain-theory reformulation of anomie a faithful development of Émile Durkheim's original concept, or a substantially different theory that merely borrows Durkheim's term?. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://society.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/oq-anomie-durkheim-merton-continuityCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{societyandcultureatlas-is-robert-merton-s-strain-theory-reformu, author = {Society and Culture Atlas}, title = {Is Robert Merton's strain-theory reformulation of anomie a faithful development of Émile Durkheim's original concept, or a substantially different theory that merely borrows Durkheim's term?}, year = {2026}, url = {https://society.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/oq-anomie-durkheim-merton-continuity}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXOpen QuestionCross-Tradition ConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)Open QuestionDurkheim's anomie (1893, 1897) covers both acute, crisis-driven normlessness and a more chronic form of unregulated desire, while Merton's mid-20th-century strain theory narrows the concept to a structural mismatch between culturally prescribed success goals and the legitimate means to achieve them; scholars disagree on how much continuity actually exists between the two versions.What would resolve this A close textual comparison of Durkheim's Suicide (1897) against Merton's own stated debts to Durkheim, tracing which specific claims Merton's strain theory retains, drops, or redefines.OpenSociology (theory)Wikipedia: AnomieCross-Tradition ConnectionsQuestion OnAnomie, Social Theory and Concepts Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Anomietier 3SourcesWikipedia: Anomietier 3WikipediaHistory section, Merton/Durkheim comparison discussionView the SourceComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year