Chapter 8 - Social Conflict Theory Flashcards
Overview
Critical Criminology
- Conflict is a fundamental aspect of society
- Points the finger at the system rather than the offender
Example: getting a poor mark and blaming the curriculum for being hard
Social Stratification
- Crimes results from the confict we are not all equal with are socially stratified
- Inequality between social classes
Basic Assumptions
- Society is divided by conflict
- Groups > Political and Economic Power
- Power and Law-Making
- Crime is an outcome of conflict between those who have and those who have not
- The criminal justice system protects the interests of the dominant class
- Capitalism produces greedy and predatory behaviour
Conflict Theory of Crime
The Conflict Theory of Crime
- criminal law is made by a small segment of society with social power to serve their own interests and impose their values
The concept of power
- the ability of persons and groups to control the behaviour of others, shape public opinion, and define deviance
Thorsten Selling
- modern society is composed of diverse cultural groups, each possessing their own distinct CONDUCT, that goern appropriate conduct, inevitably leading to CULTURAL CONFLICT
Conduct Norms
- specification of rules or norms of appropriate behaviour generally agreed upon by members of social group to whom the behavioural norms apply
Example: direct eye contact while shaking hands with an authority figure can be seen as disrepectful in some cultures
Cultural Conflict
- Divergent Conduct Norms
- Criminal law generally reflects the values and conduct norms of dominant cultural group
Group Conflict Theory
George Vold
- criminal behaviour results from a conflict between the interests of divergent groups
- Politics and the Law-Making Process
Example: specific members of the Supreme Court were chosen who shares the same views to get Roe v. Wade being overturned in the states
Group Conflict Theory
Criminalization
- when minority groups come into contact with law enforcement agents who enforcement the law according to the wishes of those in power
- Some groups have more access to law making powers than others
Radical Criminology
Radical Criminology (Marxist Criminology)
- crime is a product of the capitalist system
- Economic conditions under capitalism
- Class Structure
System of economic production
Proletariat - the worker
Bourgeoisie - the owners
Instrumental Marxism
- the state and its legal and political institutions directly serve the interests of the capitalist class
- Capitalists use the state to dominate society
- Richard Quinney - argued that the state was an interest of the dominate Economic Class and Criminal Law (believed politicians were influenced by the economic class)
Example: Direct Influence (Bribing someone)
Structural Marxism
- the institutions of the state must ensure the ongoing viability of capitalism
- Law is NOT an instrument of the capitalist class
- Law as an ideological means of domination
State, Dominant Economic Class, and Criminal Law:
- an instrument of the dominant economic class to maintain existing social and economic order
- Governing of consciousness of the popularity
- Contradictions of Capitalism
- Labours of many produce the profits of a few
- Surplus Value
Example: Bath & Body Works Sales / A New TV Episode of a series
Crimes of the Working Class
- Crimes of Accoomadation
- Predatory crimes committed by those ‘brutalized’ by capitalism that reproduce the capitalist system
Example: Robbery
Crimes of the Ruling Class
- Crimes of Domination
- Crimes committed by the dominant economic class to protect their interests
Example: Price-Fixing
Relative Autonomy
- the state has a certain amount of independence from capitalist class to enact laws not in the immediate interests of the capitalist class
Example: Anti-Combines Legislation
Other Forms of Critical Criminology
Foucault and Criminology
Michel foucault
- Michel Foucault suggested that we have embedded power in areas outside of the government. We have been socialized to be easier to govern and control
Foucault and Criminology
Governmentality
- Art of government
- An idea of “government that is not limited to state politics but includes a wide range of control techniques”
Foucault and Criminology
Power
- power extends beyond states as it is not a quantity to hold or possess but rather is rational, meaning that it is only evident in its exercise
Foucault and Criminology
Micro powers
- are small, governance that have significant effect on our behaviour
Example: Speed Limits
Foucault and Discipline
- Power operates through discipline
- A meticulous manner or method training intended to ensure subjection and obedience
Foucault and Criminology
Surveillance
- the direct or indirect observation of conduct to encourage a desired outcome
Example: Conformity
The Panopticon
- “… the major effect of the Panopticon: to induce in the inmate a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functions of power”
Actuaralism and Risk Society
- The concept of risk: the calculated probability of an eventuality
- Actuarial: the statistical calculation of risk across time and groups
- A Risk Society: a societal form characterized by the (a) production of and increased awareness of human made ‘risks’ and (b) organization around the management of risks
Example of a risk society: overprotecting our children
Understanding of Social Problems
- Crime seen as inevitable reality
- Social problem to be managed, not solved
Example: Situational Crime Prevention
Role of Criminal Justice Professionals
Increased focus on collection and aggregation of risk data
