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sociology A2 - CRIME + DEVIENCE > class, power + crime (marxism) > Flashcards

class, power + crime (marxism) Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

reasons why crime occurs: FUNCTIONALISM

A
  • crime is the product of inadequate socialization
  • working class are not socialized into societies norms, values and beliefs = collective conscience
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2
Q

MERTONs strain theory

A
  • class structure denies WC people the opportunity to achieve societies shared goals using legitimate means
  • more likely to innovate
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3
Q

FUNCTIONALIST subcultural theories

A
  • COHEN: status frustration
  • CLOWARD + MILLER: identify 3 different working class criminal subcultures
  • MILLER: lower working class subculture makes them more predisposed to criminal behavior
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4
Q

labelling theory

A
  • rejects that crime statistics are valid
  • prefer to focus on the role of law enforcement agencies, which have the power to label the working class and criminals
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5
Q

traditional marxism

A
  • marxism is a structural (macro) theory
  • capitalism: competitive system that encourages aggression and winning
  • the law reflects the interest of the ruling class - private property always protected
  • laws which protect workers can be seen as concessions to make them accept the system (smoke screen)
  • one law for rich and one rule for the poor
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6
Q

criminogenic capitalism

A
  • capitalism is a system that causes criminal behavior
  • capitalism based on exploitation of the working class
  • poverty leads to crime
  • crime is the only way to obtain the goods advertised in the media
  • working class have no control over their lives - feel frustrated and become aggressive
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7
Q

law creation and the dominant ideology: MARXISM

A
  • the ruling class impose their views on society
  • do this through religion, education, mass media etc - IDEOLOGICAL DOMINATION (HEGEMONY)
  • society accepts this as beneficial to all - really only benefit the ruling class
  • laws protect private property
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8
Q

media and working class crime: MARXISM

A
  • mass media focuses on WC crime
  • working class are demonized in the media
  • police and criminal justice system often discriminate against WC males
  • more likely to be ‘stopped and searched’ than any other groups in society
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9
Q

tax avoidance

A
  • costs UK economy £69.9 billion a year
  • estimate benefits overpaid due to fraud is £1.2billion and tax credit fraud is £380million
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10
Q

the state and law making: CHAMBLISS (MARXIST)

A
  • laws reflect the bourgeoisie and their businesses
  • looks at how Britain introduced laws into east African Colonies
  • tax system was introduced so the locals had to work on the plantations to pay their taxes
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11
Q

selective law enforcement: MARXISM

(CARLSON)

A
  • all social classes commit crime
  • crimes of the powerful are less likely to end in prosecution
  • CARLSON: in a sample of 200 firms all has breached health and safety regulations - only 1-5% were prosecuted
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12
Q

ideological functions of crime and law:

A
  • some laws benefit the WC - this gives capitalism a more humane face
  • selective enforcement of the law encourages the WC to blame each other for societies problems rather than capitalism
  • hides real criminals in society such as large corporations
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13
Q

criticisms of traditional marxism:

A
  • ignores the victims of crimes - they are WC too
  • if capitalism creates crime, why does it exist in communist countries?
  • elderly groups are amongst the poorest in Britian but have low levels of offending
  • ignores crime relating to gender or ethnicity
  • not all capitalist societies have high crime rates - japan, switzerland
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14
Q

critical criminology (neo marxism)

AGREE with marxists on these points:

A
  • capitalist societies are based on exploitation and the class system
  • the state makes laws that are in the interest of the capitalist class
  • capitalism should be replaced with a classless society - would get rid of crime
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15
Q

critical criminology (neo marxists)

DIFFER from marxists with:

A
  • instead of being driven to crime by their status, they believe criminals choose crime
  • reject all theories that behavior is driven by external forces. crime is not caused by environment, biology, poverty or anomie
  • crime is deliberate, conscious and has political motives e.g. gay liberation, just stop oil
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16
Q

when looking at the cause of deviance Taylor et al believe you have to look at 6 points…

A
  1. wider origins of the deviant act (the unequal distribution of wealth)
  2. immediate origins of the deviant act (the context of the crime)
  3. the act itself (what was it for)
  4. immediate origins of social reactions (family, police etc)
  5. wider origins of social reaction (looking at why people might get a harsher punishment than others)
  6. effects of labelling (why does labelling lead to deviance amplification)
17
Q

evaluation of critical criminology (neo marxism)

A
  • gender blind
  • romanticizes WC as robin hood’s - they are preying on the poor
  • dont take crime seriously and ignore the effects on WC victims
  • most victims are WC and ethnic minorities. Taylor et al do not recongize that the working class, black people are committing crimes against their own race and class
  • ignores domestic violence / abuse
  • ignores any white collar crime - this is the rich stealing from the rich and not the poor stealing from the rich
18
Q

grenfell tower

A
  • fire killed 72 people, blame for the tragedy was laid at the feet of local and national government
  • the building management company and the corporations it had contracted to renovate the power
19
Q

Grenfell tower inquiry process

A
  • PHASE ONE: ‘systematic failures’ in london fire brigades response
  • PHASE TWO: looked at buildings refurbishment in jan 2020
  • 460 companies were involved in various work at grenfell tower over the years
  • police have to analyze 31mil documents, 2,500 pieces of evidence and 2,332 witness statements
20
Q

crimes of the powerful

A

focuses on how higher class and corporate offenders are less likely to be prosecuted

21
Q

white collar/corporate crime definition

A

sutherland describes this as ‘a crime committed by a person of responsibility and high social status in the course of his/her occupation’

22
Q

two types of white collar/corporate crime:

A
  • occupational crime: committed by employees simply for their own gain - stealing from their employer
  • corporate crime: committed by employees for their organization to increase company profits
23
Q

types of corporate crime:

A
  • financial crimes such as tax evasion, bribery, money laundering and illegal accounting - victims are other companies, shareholders, tax payers and governments
  • crimes against consumers - false labelling scandales
  • crime against employees - discrimination and violation of wage laws
  • estimated 1,100 deaths in the workplace due to health and safety violations
  • crimes against the environment VW disguised emissions levels from its cars
24
Q

CARRABINE - abuse of trust

A
  • CARRABINE: we trust high status professionals with our health, finance and security
  • accountancy firms devise tax avoidance schemes for wealthy clients - huge cost to tax payer
  • uk dentists have claimed large amounts of money from the NHS for treatment that has not been carried out
25
Q

who is harold shipman?

A
  • most prolific serial killer in history
  • estimated he killed 250 of his patients between 1975-1998
  • despite being convicted for obtaining controlled drugs in 1976
26
Q

what was the thalidomide scandal?

A

fabrication of the drug thalidomide resulted in the births of thousands of deformed babies

27
Q

how is white collar crime invisible?

A
  • media has little coverage of white collar crime reinforcing that working class crime is a big problem
  • language desensitizes the seriousness of working class crime
  • lack of political will to tackle it - no surveys
  • crimes are often too complex to understand
  • de-labeling: often describes as civil offences rather than criminal - fines as punishment instead of prison
  • under-reporting: the victim is society at large or the environment rather than individuals
  • often unaware you are a victim
28
Q

partial visibility of white collar crime

A
  • 2008 corporate crime has become more visible
  • more reports of tax avoidance by large corporations - google, amazon etc
  • PPI scandal
29
Q

explanations of corporate crime

A
  • MERTONS STRAIN THEORY - if a company cannot achieve its goal of maximizing profits it may employ illegal ones instead
  • when their financial performance starts to deteriorate they could innovate to achieve their goals
30
Q

SUTHERLAND - differential association

A
  • sees crime as socially learned behavior
  • if a companies culture justifies committing crime, employees will be socialized into criminality to achieve goals
  • the culture of the business may promote a competitive, aggressive personality type who are willing to commit crime
  • they may adopt techniques of neutralization to justify their crimes. carrying out orders from above - blame the victim
31
Q

corporate labelling theory

(NELKEN)

A
  • an act only counts as a crime if it has been labelled as such
  • companies have the resources to hire lawyers and accountants to avoid negative labels
  • NELKEN refers to this as de-labelling
32
Q

marxism viewpoint summary

A
  • sees crime as resulting from the normal functioning of capitalism to maximise profits
  • capitalism can control the state so can avoid making laws that conflict with it’s interests
  • companies only conform to the law when it is strictly enforced
  • capitalism is all about profits, so unstable goods, low wages, polluting the environment are inevitable
  • e.g. Grenfell Tower
33
Q

marxism evaluation (criticisms)

A
  • both strain theory and marxism over predict crime - many companies don’t commit crime
  • many non-profit, large organizations such as police, civil service and army commit crimes - fails to explain this

sociology A2 - CRIME + DEVIENCE (5 decks)

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