Class, Power and Crime Flashcards
criminogenic capitalism
marxists say that crime is an inevitable part of capitalist societies.
Capitalism endorses the unequal divide between classes, therefore committing crime is the only way people can live their desired life.
State’s role in law making
CHAMBLISS: laws that protect private property are the cornerstone of the capitalist economy
- The ruling class has power to prevent the introduction of laws that threaten their interests.
selective enforcement:
within the CJS there’s selective bias - more likely to target WC areas and more likely to be criminalised
ideological functions of the law
PEARCE: laws give capitalism a ‘caring face’, create a false class consciousness among workers
state enforces the law selectively, crime appears a working class phenomena - divides the WC dye to how it encourages workers to blame criminals in the midst of their problems - not capitalism
Neo-marxist: critical criminology
- capitalist societies are based in exploitation and class conflict
- capitalism should be replaced by a classless society
- the state makes and enforces laws in the interest of capitalist ideas
Neo-marxist: Anti-determinism
They believe that marxism is too deterministic.
people have free will: crime is a conscious decision made by the individual. Criminals are not passive puppets whose behaviour is shaped by the nature of capitalism.
Taylor et al: fully social theory of deviance
Critical of marxists for economic determinism - see crime as a meaningful action - deliberately striving to change society
- The wider origins of the deviant act:
The unequal distribution of wealth and power in capitalist society - Immediate origins of the deviant act:
The context in which the individual decides to commit the act - The act itself:
Its meaning for the actor - Immediate origins of social reaction:
The reactions of those around the deviant act - The wider origins of societal reaction:
Who has the power to define actions as deviant and to label others - The effects of labelling : What effects does the deviant act have on the future actions
White collar & corporate crime
Sutherland: ‘white collar crime is crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of their occupation’
FAILS to distinguish between 2 types of crime:
1. occupational crime - crime committed by employees for their own personal gain
- corporate crime - crime committed by employees for their organisation
Types of corperate crime
- Financial crimes: tax evasion, money laundering, fraud
- Crimes against consumers: false labelling, selling unfit goods
- Crimes against employees: sexual and racial discrimination
- Crimes against the environment: toxic waste dumping
- State-corporate crime: private companies involvement in war
Invisibility of corporate crime
- Lack of how to tackle it
- Media gives limited coverage
- De-labelling, filtered out from the process of criminalisation
- Under reporting, no obvious victim
- Complexity
Box: Strain theory
Using Merton’s ‘strain theory’, Box argues that if a company cannot achieve its goal of maximising profit by legal means, it may employ illegal means instead
Sutherland: differential association
Sees crime as a behaviour learned from others in a social context. if we associate ourselves with people who have criminal attitudes, were more likely to be deviant ourselves.
Deviant subcultures - groups who share the same set of norms and values, which are at odds with the norms of wider society.
The competitive culture of business may encourage people to deviate.
Techniques of neutralisation - individuals can deviate easier if they can provide justification for their actions.
Nelken: Labelling theory
unlike the working class, businesses and professionals have the power to avoid labelling. For example they can afford experts - lawyers and accountants to help them
