Conformity to social norms, the most common adaptation in Merton’s typology, is the opposite of deviance. It involves acceptance of both the overall societal goal (“become affluent”) and the approved means (“work hard”). In Merton’s view, there must be some consensus regarding accepted cultural goals and legitimate means for attaining them. Without such consensus, societies could exist only as collectives of people rather than as unified cultures and might function in continual chaos.