The belief that deviant behavior is necessary or vital to the success of a society may seem alarming to many at first. However, when broken down as Emile Durkheim and Kai Erikson explain, it becomes a much more palatable idea. In essence, deviance and acts of crime or violence, in fact serve a great purpose. Although they may be horrific and tragic, deviance plays a key role in reinforcing the norms and morals of a society. Legions of people rally together to support what they believe has been vilified, criminalized or defamed in any way. This ultimately strengthens society as a whole and cultivates new waves of progression. As Durkheim stated in “The Normal and the Pathological,” “Crime is, then, necessary; it is bound up with the fundamental conditions of all social life, and by that very fact it is useful, because these conditions of which it is a part are themselves indispensable to the normal evolution of morality and law.” Crime, thus, creates and maintains strong collective behavior in the pursuit of moral justice or progression. It is the ultimate catalyst to positive social change.
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Deviance & Social Pathology 
As I read Durkheim’s article, I had a different reaction completely. I actually disagreed with his approach that crime is necessary; he tried making it seem like a harsh reality we just have to accept. I disagreed with this because there are so many behaviors that people either engage in or avoid because of the rules that are in place, rules which are there to warn people to avoid the adverse consequences that come if they’re not followed. For example, a chef doesn’t need to burn himself in order to realize that its important to be careful around fire. So too, I don’t feel like society needs criminals in order to appreciate the justice and figure out whats good and bad. Humans have the gift of foresight, which allows us (sometimes) to anticipate outcomes of events before they happen.
I think that Durkheim did put it best when it came to describing that crime is needed i didn’t find it harsh at all. It is a reality that crime exists and it is those crimes that build and mold society. You have those people who fight everyday to get out of the crime out of poverty and these crimes push them to not become that. I think that people engage and put themselves in the places there in its not norms that make them do it. and only them can make that decision and get themselves out. For many if you believe in something you just go for it and stand up for your own . If you don’t who will? Crime is in definite need to occur in order for their to be a social change. No
matter how terrible they may be it just has to be that way.
I liked Durkheim’s way of explaining crime. It seems as though he rejects the definition of crime itself. Yet points out numerous relationships between a society and acts that are committed. Durhiem states that crime is a universal feature in every society. Crime acts as a force within the society. With crime comes punishment and with punishment comes social solidarity. Crime can not be avoided because there will always be differences amongst us individuals. However crime can evolve and change over time.