默顿的失范论从美国的社会结构出发,揭示了犯罪的一个社会原因。默顿认为,尽管社会认可的成功目标在整个社会中是一致的,但是达到这种成功目标的合法手段却因阶层和地位的不同而有差别。因此,当人们无法用合法的手段实现社会承认的成功目标时,就可能产生犯罪。本文从默顿的失范论入手,简要分析了其对中国犯罪预防的政策启示。 Merton’s anomie theory starts from the social structure of the United States and reveals a social cause of crime. Merton believes that although the socially accepted success goal is the same across society, the legitimate means of achieving this goal of success vary from one class to another. Therefore, people can commit crimes when they can not achieve the socially recognized success goal by lawful means. This article begins with Merton’s theory of anomie and briefly analyzes its policy implications for crime prevention in China.