Ma`rifat Farhangi Ejtemaei

Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this paper investigates the relationship between power, wealth, and the phenomenon of elite social deviance; by critiquing criminology’s traditional focus on the deviance of the underprivileged, it posits “elite deviance” as a central issue. Utilizing Islamic text content analysis (the Quran and Hadiths) alongside a re-reading of key conflict and critical sociological theories, it is argued that the powerful and the wealthy are not only less frequently “labeled” as deviant due to greater access to the instruments of social control, but inherently, through structural and psychological mechanisms, they foster broader and more consequential deviance. The findings indicate that this relationship is shaped through several primary pathways: I. Shaping dominant cultural discourses and defining norms; II. Creating and maintaining unjust economic structures (such as the usurious system and profit-driven capitalism); III. Reinforcing a sense of self-sufficiency, hubris, and the “lust for power” within the personality of the elites; IV. Capturing the instruments of formal control (professions, positions, and media). Ultimately, by presenting an integrated analytical model, the paper demonstrates how macro (structural) and micro (psychological) factors, in interaction with one another, generate a specific pattern of politico-economic deviance among the holders of power and wealth. This study underscores the necessity of shifting the focus of social control toward elite deviance, as well as the richness of Islamic foundations for formulating an Islamic social theory in this domain.