within a society, upon its cultural themes. In
             such circumstances, it is assumed that some cultural prescrip-
             tions are common to all members of society, but that modifica-
             tions and variations are discernible within the society.
             Again, it is part of the definition of a subculture, as of a
             culture, that is relatively enduring. Its norms are termed a
             "style", rather than a "fashion", on the grounds that the former
             has some endurance while the latter is evanescent. The quarrel
             comes, of course, when we try to estimate how "real" a cultural
             The standards by which behavior is to be guided vary among
             men and over time. Its is in this change and variety that
             crime is defined. An application of this principle to crimin-
             ology would find that the roots of the crime in the fact that
             groups have developed different standards of appropriate
             behavior and that, in "complex cultures", each individual is
             subject to competing prescriptions for action.
             Another subcultural explanation of crime grows readily out
             of the fact that, as we have seen, "social classes" experience
             different rates of arrest and conviction for serious offenses.
             When strata within a society are marked off by categories of
             income, education, and occupational prestige, differences are
             discovered among them in the amount and style of crime.
             Further, differences are usually found between these "social
             classes" in their tastes, interests, and morals. Its is easy
             to describe these class-linked patterns as cultures.
             This version of the subcultural explanation of crime holds
             that the very fact of learning the lessons of the subculture
             means that one aquires interests and preferences that place him
             in greater or lesser risk of breaking the law. Others argue
             that being reared in the lower class means learning a different
             culture from that which creates the criminal laws. The lower-
             class subculture i...