Final answer:
Deviance is often a response to the disparate opportunities individuals have to achieve societal goals, explained by Robert Merton's strain theory. Social disorganization theory and conflict theory also provide perspectives on why deviance occurs based on the environment and systemic inequalities.
Step-by-step explanation:
The argument that deviance occurs when a society does not give all its members equal ability to achieve socially acceptable goals is best explained by Robert Merton's strain theory. Strain theory suggests that individuals in society are given different opportunities to achieve common cultural goals, such as financial success. For example, someone from a privileged background may have an easier path to becoming a successful CEO, while someone from a less privileged background who lacks resources may turn to deviant behaviors, such as embezzlement, to achieve their goals.
Social disorganization theory suggests that deviance and crime are likely to occur in communities with weak social ties and a lack of social control, where societal norms cannot be effectively enforced. Areas with high poverty and family disruption experience higher rates of such behaviors according to studies by Robert Sampson and Byron Groves.
Conflict theory, influenced by the work of Karl Marx and further developed by others like C. Wright Mills, looks at the economic and social factors that create a system of inequality, often leading to deviance and crime as people respond to the stratified social order.