Crime And Deviance - Marxist & Neo Marxist Perspectives Of Crime And Deviance

Question 1

RECAP: What are the main points on Marxism?

Answer 1

it is a conflict approach where the conflict is between the social classes & behaviour is seen as mounted to the social structure
Social inequality is the force behind crime

Question 2

What are traditional Marxist theories on crime and deviance?

Answer 2

Capitalist society is criminogenic
The law reflects ruling-class interests & ideology
Selective law enforcement

Question 3

How is capitalist society seen as criminogenic?

Answer 3

Crime is seen as in-built & a natural outgrowth of capitalist society as it emphasises economic self-interest, greed & personal gain
Crime is a rational response to competitiveness & the inequality of life in capitalist society (profit seen more important that others’ wellbeing)
Relative poverty has some people struggling to survive -> encourages crime which arises from hostility & frustration at social exclusion

Question 4

What is social exclusion?

Answer 4

When people are excluded from full participation as a member of mainstream society & cannot participate in education, work etc.

Question 5

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Gordon say about society being criminogenic?

Answer 5

It is surprising that in these circumstances the working class are not committing more crime

Question 6

How is the law seen as reflecting ruling-class interests & ideology, in capitalist society?

Answer 6

Laws not expression of value consensus -> Chambliss -> instruments of working class & reflect values & beliefs of the ruling class
Heart of capitalism -> protection of private property & other interests -> state acts as criminal in line with these basic concerns
Laws appear to benefit everyone -> have ideological, manipulative function of providing a smoke screen that law is even-handed, when this isn’t the case (opposite)

Question 7

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Box say about how the law reflects ruling-class interests & ideology?

Answer 7

Serious crime definition is ideologically constructed -> identified as crime e.g. property crime, violence committed by members of the w.class -> rather than major harm caused by corporations (e.g. environmental damage)/ governments (e.g. human rights violations) -> agencies of social control protect ruling-class interests & power & criminalise those who oppose them

Question 8

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Snider say about how the law reflects ruling-class interests & ideology?

Answer 8

Argues capitalist states pass health & safety laws/laws against pollution when forced to do so by public crises/unions -> strengthen them reluctantly, weaken wherever possible & rarely enforce them (In a manner calculated to do as little as possible to impede profitability)

Question 9

How is law enforcement selective? Include Chambliss & Pearse’s views

Answer 9

Official statistics -> crime is mainly presented as a w.class phenomenon due to selective law enforcement
Chambliss -> 1 law for rich, 1 for the poor (crime mainly focused on them, & they’re more likely to be prosecuted) -> Higher classes -> less likely to be prosecuted & let off more leniently
Biggest amount of crimes -> committed by ruling class <- Pearse (“the crimes of the powerful” -> form of white collar & corporate crime e.g tax evasion/breaches of health & safety)
o Such crimes rarely prosecuted (even if discovered)
o Selective law enforcement -> gives impression most crime committed by disturbed w.class & diverts their attention from their exploitation & directs it to members of their own class (individuals blamed for crime)

Question 10

What are neo-marxist theories on crime & deviance?

Answer 10

Attempt to develop more sophisticated approach to crime
Argue traditional Marxist theories too deterministic -> suggesting people driven into crime by forces out of their control
Suggest no one forced to commit crime -> crime voluntary act
Also suggest w.class crimes e.g. vandalism/burglary are meaningful & symbolic political acts of resistance to w.class oppression
W.class criminals -> Robin Hood figures (taking action against inequality, misdirected into criminal acts rather than trad.forms of political activism)
Adopted by Gilroy -> sees black crime as a form of resistance to ruling class oppression in form of police racism & harassment

Question 11

Who developed the new criminology?

Answer 11

Taylor et al

Question 12

What is the new criminology & what is their perspective on crime & deviance?

Answer 12

Developed by Taylor et al -> suggested to fully understand crime & deviance, how it is socially constructed/motivations of offenders & meanings they gave to their crimes -> necessary to draw on structural & interactionalist approaches
They developed a ‘fully social theory of deviance’ which explores 6 dimensions

Question 13

What are the 6 dimensions explored by the ‘fully social theory of deviance’?

Answer 13

 The wider social origins of deviant act -> wider context of crime (e.g. capitalism & unequal distribution of wealth & power/period of economic/political crisis)
 The immediate origins of deviant act -> specific situation leading criminals to choose to commit deviant acts (e.g. unemployment)
 The actual act & what is means to the deviant -> seen as a political act against ruling class/resistance to police racism/Robin Hood act/alternative to job in paid employment/supports drug habit?
 Immediate origins of societal reaction -> how do other people react to it? (E.g., police/family/deviant/victim)
 Wider origins of social reaction -> how does wider society/social system react? (E.g those who label acts as deviant (media/police)) why are some acts treated harsher than others?
 Outcomes of societal reaction on the deviant’s further action -> what happens when they’re labelled as deviant? (Stops reoffending/leads to bitterness, resentment or acceptance of label/ development of deviant career & further deviance?)

Question 14

What is the new criminology, applied by Hall et al & what did it suggest?

Answer 14

o Study of black crime (particularly mugging in 1970s) -> suggested crime used to reassert dominance of ruling class hegemony when it was under threat due to political & economic crisis
 Achieved by diverting people’s attention from wider structural causes of crisis onto people mugging by scapegoating young black people
 To reassert hegemony -> ruling-class-owned media stirred up public
 Exaggerated problem of black crime & created demands for it to be stamped out
o Suggested social reaction fuelled by media exaggeration created moral panic (shown by public concerns about alleged black crime wave -> helped justify more repressive & aggressive policing -> became means of re-establishing ruling class hegemony in society & cracking down on opposition to ruling class

Question 15

RECAP: What is hegemony?

Answer 15

Dominance in society of ruling class’s ideas over others & acceptance of them by rest of society

Question 16

What is moral panic?

Answer 16

Wave of public concern about exaggerated/imaginary threat to society, stirred by overblown reporting in the media

Question 17

What are the criticisms of Marxist & Neo-Marxist theories of crime?

Answer 17

• Over emphasise property crime -> don’t say much about offences e.g. rape/d.v/physical or sexual abuse of children -> difficult to conceive how such offences could have a political motivation/meaning
• Over emphasise class inequality in relation to crime -> neglect other inequalities e.g. gender
• Feminists -> regard Marxist theories of crime as malestream -> focuses primarily on male criminality & makes assumptions that theories can automatically be applied to women
• Traditional Marxist theories too deterministic -> see people as forced into crime by circumstances they cannot control -> ignore point by neo-Marxists (crime is voluntary, most w.c people don’t commit crime)
• Difficult to interpret al laws as reflecting ruling-class interests -> many that are in everyone’s interests e.g. traffic laws/vehicle theft & police to protect people from victimisation (not all ruling-class agents in the business of repressing & criminalising the w.class
• Pay little attention to victims -> neo-Marxists tend to romanticise w.class crimes as political acts
  o Left realists -> crimes that matter most to people e.g. burglary, mainly committed by w.class criminals against other w.class people -> difficult to see them as Robin Hood figures
• Other theories -> criticise for romanticising crime & not taking it seriously, not producing realistic policies to prevent crime & protect victims (mainly w.class)