Posted: February 14th, 2023

How does the Strain theory play into the American dream and crime as related to the Bernie Madoff case?

How does the Strain theory play into the American dream and crime as related to the Bernie Madoff case?
Crime is challenging and intriguing. And to reduce crime, we must first be prepared to understand why people commit a crime. In sociology, crime and deviant behaviors can be explained by a plethora of theories. One of these theories is the popular strain theory. The strain theory was first introduced in the 1930s by an influential American sociologist Robert K. Merton. Merton agreed with Durkheim’s idea that deviance is inherent to any operative society.
However, Merton expanded on Durkheim’s ideas by noting that the access to social opportunities the lack thereof plays a significant role in determining if an individual conforms or deviates from the rules of the land. In short, pressures arising from social factors such as the lack of quality education and lack of sustainable income influences people into committing crimes.
The Strain theory and the “America Dream.”
The “American Dream” is measured in terms of financial achievement and material possessions. And as children, we are made to understand how important it is to realize this dream. But people do not have an equal footing in contemporary American society. On the one hand, some people have access to better education, better employment opportunities, and higher incomes. But, on the other hand, some face several stressors or strains that prevent them from achieving their goals. It is this failure to achieve the expected success that drives such people into crimes. According to Robert Merton, individuals who unable to realize their socially accepted goals through legal means are often tempted to deviate through embezzlement in a quest to achieve their goals.
Bernie Madoff case and the Strain Theory
Bernie Madoff is popularly known for having executed one of the biggest fraudulent schemes in history. In approximately seventeen years, Madoff, a renowned American financier, turned fraudster managed to defraud thousands of his investors billions of dollars through a well-executed Ponzi scheme. Madoff’s case has severally been linked and explained by the strain theory. Born in 1938 in New York, Bernie Madoff was a wealthy, successful, respected, and legitimate Wall Street investment adviser. He was also a pioneer in electric trading and chair of the Nasdaq during the early 1990s.
Being one of the wealthiest and richest men during those days, Madoff had no reason to ploy his investors. However, he was a well-versed and active member of the financial industry for many years. Having access to the resources, both knowledge and financial, influenced Madoff into his fraudulent behavior that saw him sentenced to 150 years in prison until his death on 14th April 2021.
References
Agnew, R. and Brezina, T., 2019. General strain theory. In Handbook on crime and deviance (pp. 145-160). Springer, Cham.
Brezina, T., 2017. General strain theory. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Manning, P., 2018. Madoff’s Ponzi investment fraud: a social capital analysis. Journal of Financial Crime.