class, power and crime Flashcards
what does functionalist miller argue?
lower class has developed independent subcultures with own norms and values which clash with those of mainstream culture, explaining why lower class have higher rates of crime
what does the strain theory argue? what does merton argue?
people engage in deviant behaviour when their opportunities to achieve legitimately are blocked
merton argues american societies class structure denies working class people to have opportunities for money success (american dream), therefore more likely to turn to crime to achieve success; merton calls this innovation which explains why there is higher rates of utilitarian crime in lower class
what does cohen’s subculture theory argue?
sees working class youths as culturally deprived, not being socialised into mainstream culture, lacking means to achieve and find themselves at the bottom of status hierarchy leading to status frustration
what does cloward and ohlin argue about subcultures?
they use the concept of illegitimate opportunity structures to explain a range of different crimes more likely to occur in working class
what do labelling theorist argue?
reject official statistics and seek the causes of working class crime as we must study power of control agents to label working class as criminal
what do marxists argue?
crime is inevitable in capitalism as it is crimogenic because capitalism exploits working class which is damaging them to turn to crime as it is the only way to obtain consumer goods encouraged by capitalism advertising
how does crimogenic capitalism effect working class?
they become alienated from society which may lead to frustration and aggression, resulting in non utilitarian crimes such as violence
how does crimogenic capitalism effect bourgeoisie class?
capitalism is a dog eat dog system of ruthless competition where capitalists often commit white collar crime and corporate crime such as tax evasion
what does chambliss argue about state and law making?
laws to protect property are cornerstones of the capitalist economy, illustrating this with a case of introduction to english law in britains east african colonies; tea, coffee and other plantations needed a supply of local labourers and at the time local economy was not a money economy so to force reluctant african population to work, britain introduced a tax payable in cash, nonpayment was punishable criminal offence, exploiting the africans to work on the plantations
what does snider argue about law making?
ruling class have power to prevent introduction of laws which could threaten them
what is selective enforcement?
police and courts tend to ignore crimes of powerful such as white collar crime
what are ideological functions of crime and law?
laws occasionally are passed that appear to be for the benefit of working class rather than capitalism such as workplace health and safety laws
what does pearse argue about ideological functions?
laws often benefit ruling class which keep workers in work: by giving capitalism a ‘caring’ image
when was the law against corporate crime homoside passed?
what did it do?
2007 where in 8 years only one successful prosecution of a UK company- despite large numbers of deaths at work
what are some criticisms of law making and ideological capitalism?
largely ignores relationship between crime and non class inequalities
to deterministic and over predicts amount of crime
not all capitalist societies have high crime rates (switerland and japan)
the criminal justice system sometimes acts against capitalism
