ABSTRACT
Imitation always operates within the social context, according to Tarde, and applies to all social action in all social strata. Tarde argues that crime begins in the "higher ranks" of society and filters down to the "lower ranks" due to imitation, from the powerful to the powerless. Durkheim remains one of the most influential scholars in the early foundations of sociological criminology. His theory of law and social order was pioneering and voluminous. Organic solidarity is typical of societies that are "complex" in their division of labor, that have a high degree of individualism. Use career placement exams to illustrate how individualism has become so all-important in modern society. Durkheim applied his sociological perspective to understanding suicide and homicide. Suicide, as the personal act of individual deviance, must be seen within its sociological context. As Marx and Engels evaluated the situation, these conditions led to demoralization among the working class and then to crime, especially drunkenness, prostitution, and interpersonal violence.
