Class, Power and Crime

Question 1

outline the functionalist view of the law + crime + deviance

Answer 1

• Fs see the law as a reflection society’s shared values
• crime is the product of inadequate socialisation into society’s shared culture
• in modern complex society, groups may develop their own separate subcultures
• e.g. Miller: WC has their own subculture with distinctive norms + values that clash with mainstream N+Vs, which is why the WC has a higher crime rate

Question 2

outline the strain theorist view of crime + deviance

Answer 2

• strain theorists argue that people engage in deviant behaviour when their opportunities to achieve in legitimate ways are blocked
• e.g. Merton: American’s class structure denies WC people to achieve material success
• its usually the WC who feel the strain - so they seek illegitimate means of achieving it (innovation) - e.g. theft, fraud etc
• this explains the higher rate of utilitarian crimes amongst the WC

Question 3

define utilitarian and non-utilitarian crimes

Answer 3

• utilitarian crimes = crimes for material gain, e.g. fraud, property crime, theft
• non-utilitarian crimes = crimes not for material gain, e.g. violent crimes, truancy, vandalism

Question 4

outline the subcultural theorist view of crime + deviance

Answer 4

• Merton: the WC suffer due to their blocked opportunities to achieve success through legitimate means
• e.g. Cohen: WC youths are culturally deprived and lack the means to achieve educationally and so experience status frustration
• the delinquent subculture WC join is a solution to their status frustration, thus they’re are more likely to commit utilitarian crimes

Question 5

what do Cloward and Ohlin say

Answer 5

Cloward + Ohlin:
- they build on Merton + Cohen’s idea of subcultures by using the concept of illegitimate opportunity structures to explain why different crimes are more commonly committed by the WC
- they identified criminal subcultures in WC neighbourhoods which offer; criminal careers, ‘turf/ gang wars’, and a retreatist drug dropout culture

Question 6

outline the labelling theorist view on crime + deviance

Answer 6

• they reject the idea that official stats are a useful resource for sociologists that give a valid picture of which class commits most crime
• instead of focusing on the causes of WC criminality, they focus on why + how WC people come to be labelled as criminal
• they emphasize the stereotypes held by law enforcement agencies + their power to successfully label powerless groups

Question 7

what is the name functionalist, strain and subcultural theorists are called

Answer 7

• ‘problem-takers’
• they take for granted that official statistics are accurate and that WC crime is an issue that needs to be explained
• they focus their efforts on finding the cause of the problem - e.g. inadequate socialization
• labelling theorists take a different approach

Question 8

what is the name labelling theorists are called

Answer 8

• ‘problem-makers’
• they don’t see official stats as a valid resource or a social fact
• OS are a topic whose construction must be investigated by studying the power of control agents to label WC people as criminals

Question 9

(MARX.) what is the Marxist view of crime

Answer 9

• agree with labelling theorists that the law is enforced disproportionately against the WC and so official crime stats cant be taken at face value
• they criticize labelling th. for failing to examine the wider structure of capitalism from which law making/ enforcement + offending take place

Question 10

(MARX.) what are the 3 main elements of the Marxist view of crime

Answer 10

• criminogenic capitalism
• the state and law making
• ideological functions of crime and law

Question 11

(MARX.) outline criminogenic capitalism for WC

Answer 11

• capitalism is criminogenic - its nature causes crime + crime is inevitable
• Cap is based on the exploitation of the WC for profit, whatever the human cost is
• it is thus damaging to the WC and may give rise to crime;
• poverty may mean crime is the only way for the WC to survive
• utilitarian C may be the only way for them to access the consumer goods encouraged by Cap advertising
• alienation + lack of control over their lives may lead to frustration, leading to non-utilitarian crimes like violence

Question 12

(MARX.) outline criminogenic capitalism for other classes

Answer 12

• crime is not confined to the WC
• cap is a ‘dog eat dog’ system of ruthless competition among capitalists as the profit motive encourages greed + self interest
• this encourages capitalists to commit white collar + corporate crimes such as tax evasion + breaches of health and safety laws

Question 13

(MARX.) what does Gordon say

Answer 13

• Gordon: crime is a rational response to the capitalist system and so is found in all classes even though OS make it appear to be a WC phenomenon

Question 14

(MARX.) outline the state and law making

Answer 14

• Marxists see law making + enforcement as only serving the interests of the capitalist class
• the RC also have the power to prevent the introduction of laws that would threaten their interests/ profitability/ the unequal distribution of wealth

Question 15

(MARX.) outline an example of the state and law making in capitalist society

Answer 15

• Chambliss: laws that protect private property are the cornerstone of cap economy
• e.g. the introduction of English law into British East Afr colonies to force the Afr population to work in their tea, coffee plantations for the Br econ

Question 16

(MARX.) outline selective enforcement

Answer 16

• when it comes to the application of the law by the criminal justice system, there is selective enforcement
• powerless groups such as the WC + EMs are criminalised whilst the police + courts ignore crimes of the powerful
• because laws are enforced selectively, crime appears as a WC phenomenon, dividing them against the common enemy of capitalism

Question 17

(MARX.) outline the ideological functions of crime and law

Answer 17

• law, crime + criminals also perform an ideological function for capitalism
• laws are occasionally passed for the benefit of the WC, such as workplace health and safety laws

Question 18

(MARX.) what does Pearce say about the ideological functions of crime and law

Answer 18

• Pearce: such laws often benefit the RC - e.g. by keeping workers fit for work
• these laws give capitalism a ‘caring face’ and also create a flare consciousness amongst workers
• also these laws aren’t well enforced- e.g. despite a new law against corporate homicide in 2007, there was only 1 prosecution of a company in its first 8 years, despite the large numbers of workplace deaths

Question 19

(MARX.) outline 5 AO3 evaluations of Marxism

Answer 19

• ignores the relationship between non-class inequalities like race + gender with crime
• too deterministic + overestimates the amount of crime in the WC; not all poor people commit crime
• not all capitalist societies have high crime rates; homicide rates in Japan + Switzerland is only about 1/5 of in the USA
• the CJS doesn’t always act in the interest of the RC; e.g. prosecution of corporate crimes
• Left Realists: M. ignores intra-class crimes (where both criminal + victim are WC)

Question 20

(Neo-Marx) outline the Neo-Marxist view

Answer 20

• Neo-Marxists combine ideas of Marxism with other approaches - eg. labelling

Question 21

(Neo-Marx) what aspects of Marxism does Taylor et al agree with

Answer 21

Taylor agrees with Marxism that:
- capitalist societies are based on exploitation + class conflict
- the state makes +enforces laws in the interests of the RC + criminalizes the WC
- Capitalism should be replaced with a classless society - would reduce crime

Question 22

(Neo-Marx) outline Taylor et al’s anti-determinism

Answer 22

Taylor argues that Marxism is too deterministic:
- it sees workers as driven to commit crime out of economic necessity
- T rejects this explanation + theories that say crime is caused by anomie, subcultures, labelling or biological/ psychological factors
- T takes a voluntaristic view (the idea that we have free will): they see crime as a conscious choice
- crime often has a political motive; criminals are not passive puppets controlled ty capitalism, they deliberately strive to change society

Question 23

(Neo-Marx) outline Taylor’s aim to create a ‘fully social theory of deviance’

Answer 23

• Taylor aims to create a ‘fully social theory of deviance’ - a comprehensive understanding of crime + deviance that would help to positively change society
• this theory has 2 main sources: Marxism (ideas about unequal distribution of wealth + power) and interactionism + labeling (meaning of the deviant act for the actor, societal reactions, effects of deviant label)

Question 24

(Neo-Marx) in the Neo-Marxist view, what 6 aspects are needed for a complete theory of deviance

Answer 24

1) the wider origins of the deviant act: the unequal distribution of wealth + power
2) the immediate origins of the deviant act: the specific context in which the ind decides to commit the act
3) the act itself: + its meaning to the actor - eg. was it a form of rebellion against Capitalism
4) the immediate origins of social reaction: reactions of those around the deviant - police, family, community
5) wider origins of social reaction: in the structure of Cap society - who has the power to define actions as deviant + to label others
6) effects of labelling: on the deviant future actions - why does labelling lead to amplification in some cases but not all

Question 25

(Neo-Marx) outline evaluations of critical criminology

Question 26

(Neo-Marx)

Question 27

(Neo-Marx)