MODERNIZATION, STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS, AND SOCIETAL RATES OF CRIME: AN APPLICATION OF BLAU'S MACROSOCIOLOGICAL THEORY

The objectives of this article are to examine the relationships between several structural characteristics associated with modernity and the ratio of property crimes to homicides, and to develop a theoretical interpretation for such relationships. The proposed interpretation involves an application of Blau's general macrosociological theory. Blau's (1977) theory is concerned with the determinants of intergroup associations. The key to applying his theory to the phenomenon of crime lies in the conceptualization of property crimes as characteristically intergroup interactions, and homicides as ingroup interactions. Blau's theorems concerning the structural determinants of rates of intergroup associations in general can then be extended to account for the relative frequency of these two types of crime. Several specific hypotheses are derived from Blau's theory and are tested with cross-national data. The results are for the most part in accord with theoretical expectations. Moreover, the proposed interpretation for the relationship between modern social structures and the ratio of property crimes to homicides is more consistent with the full pattern of results than are some plausible alternative interpretations.