Crime and Deviance

Question 1

According to Marxists, what is capitalism in its very nature?

Answer 1

Criminogenic

Question 2

Why is capitalism criminogenic?

Answer 2

1. Poverty
2. Capitalist advertising
3. Alienation and lack of control

Question 3

What did Gordon say about capitalism and crime?

Answer 3

Crime is a rational response to capitalism and is thus found in every class

Question 4

What did Chambliss say about private property?

Answer 4

Laws which protect private property are the foundation of the capitalist economy, favouring the ruling class

Question 5

What did Snider say about the capitalist state?

Answer 5

It’s reluctant to pass laws that regulate the activities of businesses

Question 6

What is selective enforcement according to Marxists?

Answer 6

1. Although all classes commit crime, there is selective enforcement to the application of the laws by the justice system and that the courts tend to ignore the crimes of the powerful
2. Because the state enforces the law selectively, crime appears to be largely a working-class phenomenon
3. This divides the working-class by encouraging workers to blame the criminals in their own class

Question 7

What are some of the criticisms of the Marxist theory of crime?

Answer 7

1. It largely ignores the relationship between crime and important non-class inequalities e.g. gender
2. It’s too deterministic and over-predicts the amount of crime in the working class e.g. not all poor people commit crime despite the pressure of poverty
3. Not all capitalist societies have high crime rates e.g. societies with little or no state provision tend to have higher crime rates
4. Left realists argue that Marxism focuses largely on the crimes of the powerful and ignores intra-class crime

Question 8

What sociologists dominate Neo-Marxism and critical criminology?

Answer 8

Taylor et al

Question 9

How does Neo-Marxism differ from Marxism?

Answer 9

1. Anti-determinism