Cloward and Ohlin's Theory of Differential Opportunity

Cloward and Ohlin integrated Sutherland's and Merton's theories and developed a new theory of criminal behavior in 1960. Whereas Sutherland talks of illegitimate means and Merton talk about differentials in legitimate means, Cloward and Ohlin talk of differentials in both legitimate and illegitimate means to success-goals. The important elements of this theory are: (1) an individual occupies a position in both the legitimate and illegitimate opportunity structures, (2) relative availability of illegitimate opportunities affects the resolution of an individual's adjustment problems, and (3) faced with limitations on legitimate on legitimate avenues of accessibility to goals and unable to revise his aspirations downward, he experiences intense frustration, resulting in explorations of non-conformist alternatives. Cloward and Ohlin have identified three types of delinquent sub-cultures, the criminal, the conflictory, and the retreatist. The first focuses orderly activity oriented to economic gain; the second emphasizes violence and gun-fighting; and the third dwells upon the drug use and other ‘kicks'. The first tend to arise in areas where successful and big-time criminals reside and they have a high status in the conventional community and mutually acceptable relations with political machines and law enforcement officials. This sub-culture does not manifest violence. The second is found in areas where there is no alliance between the criminals and conventional elements. This sub-culture features violence or threat of violence as a method of getting status. In such neighborhoods, young people tend to organize themselves in a community of gangs contending with one another for ‘rep' through the demonstration of violence and toughness. The third is found in areas where either repressive police measures make street-fighting too dangerous or where moral and other inhibitions against the use of violence persist. Individual access to criminal and the conflictive opportunities tend to withdraw into a world of narcotic drugs. The important criticisms against Cloward and Ohlin's theory is that the main contention in the theory that there are two kinds of opportunities, legitimate and illegitimate. This is not as simple as it seems. The distinction, although real, is ‘analytical' rather than concrete, that is, there are not some things that are legitimate opportunities and other things that are illegitimate opportunities, but the same things are always both. For an example, notes prepared by students on small pieces of paper can be used as unfair means in examinations as well as legitimate simple means for remembering points a day or two before the examinations. Similarly, a gun can be used for killing as well as for self-defence. This theory was also criticized on the ground that there is class-bias in this theory and some concept cannot be operationalized; for example opportunity structure, perception of opportunity.