CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORIES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORIES - Essay Example The first aspect of American Dream is the emphasis on the value of monetary success. This motivates people to become highly ambitious (Cullen & Agnew 2006, p.192) . There is nothing wrong in being ambitious, however, to what extend a man can go to fulfill his ambitions matter a lot. The dark side of the American dream is that the importance of legitimate means to attain the social success is decreased compared to the importance of attaining the dream (Cullen & Agnew 2006,, p.192). According to Merton, it is this imbalance between the goal and the means to attain the goal that motivate people to take an illegal path (Cullen & Agnew 2006, 2001, p.192). Man is a social element. The strongest motivation behind man’s achievement is to get recognition from the society. In American society, people are evaluated on the basis of ‘what’ and ‘how much’ they have achieved rather than on the basis of who they are or how they are related to others in the social structure (Cullen and Agnew, 2006,, p.192). The ultimate measure of social worth being ‘success’ and ‘achievement,’ it puts pressure on people to achieve it at any cost (Cullen and Agnew, 2006, 2001, p.192). The mentality that â€Å"it’s not how you play the game but ; it’s whether you win or lose,† has led people to take illegal and anti-social paths to achievement as it guarantees success in quick and easy way (Cullen and Agnew, 2006, p.192) The second important aspect of American Dream is the importance given to individualism(Cullen and Agnew, 2006, p.192). As Andrew Hacker (1992) said, American society drives people to achieve success on their own and hence, in an attempt to get ahead in the race, ‘I’