Crime Marxism

Question 1

What do marxists agree with labelling theorists on

Answer 1

That the law is enforced disproportionately against the WC and that the official crime stats cannot be taken at face value

Question 2

What do marxists critique labelling theorists for

Answer 2

For failing to examine the wider structure of capitalism within which law making, law enforcement and offending take place

Question 3

Marxism- how is crime inevitable in capitalism

Answer 3

Because capitalism is criminogenic

Question 4

Marxism- how is capitalism criminogenic (3)

Answer 4

• poverty may mean that crime is the only way that the wc can survive
• crime may be the only way to obtain the consumer goods encouraged by capitalism (utilitarian crime)
• social exclusion may lead to non-utilitarian crime

Question 5

Marxism- what does Gordon suggest

Answer 5

That it is not that the wc commit crime, but that they do not commit more of it

Question 6

Marxism- how is crime not just a wc phenomenon

Answer 6

Capitalism is a system if competition amongst capitalist and the profit motive encourages a mentality of greed.- Encouraging MC capitalists to commit white collar and corporate crimes such as tax evasion

Question 7

Marxism- what does Gordon argue that crime is

Answer 7

A rational response to the capitalist system and hence it is found in all social classes, despite the official statistics making it appear to be a largely WC phenomenon

Question 8

How do marxists see law making and law enforcement as

Answer 8

As only serving the interests of the capitalist class

Question 9

Marxism- other than serious crimes such as murder, what is the majority of law in the UK

Answer 9

Property law

Question 10

What does Chambliss argue about private property laws

Answer 10

That laws to protect private property are the cornerstone of the capitalist economy. They serve to keep the WC away from the property and land of the rich

Question 11

What do the ruling class have the power to do

Answer 11

The ruling class have the power to prevent the introduction of laws that would threaten their interests. This means that there are few laws that seriously challenge the unequal distribution of wealth

Question 12

What does Sinder argue

Answer 12

That the capitalist state is reluctant to pass laws that regulate the activities of businesses or threaten their profitability. This is because it could threaten ruling class interests.

Question 13

How does the law, crime and criminals perform and ideological function for capitalism

Answer 13

Laws are occasionally passed that appear to be for the benefit of the WC rather than capitalism, such as workplace health and safety laws.

Question 14

However, what does Pearce argue about the laws that are created in the interests of the wc?

Answer 14

Pearce argues that such laws often benefit the ruling-class too- for example by keeping workers fit for work.

Question 15

By giving capitalism a ‘caring face’ what do such laws create

Answer 15

Such laws create a false consciousness among the workers. But such laws aren’t rigorously enforced

Question 16

What did Jenabi find out

Answer 16

That despite a new law against corporate homicide being passed in 2007, in its first 8 years there was only 1 successful prosecution of a UK company, despite the large numbers of deaths at work estimated to be caused by employers’ negligence

Question 17

Furthermore, because the state enforces the law selectively, what does crime appear to largely be

Answer 17

A WC phenomenon

Question 18

What does Gordon argue about crime mostly appearing to be a WC phenomenon

Answer 18

Gordon thinks this not only diverts attention from ruling class crime bur also divides the WC because the WC criminals become the target of the anger, rather than the system (capitalism) itself

Question 19

How does the media and some criminologists also contribute

Answer 19

By portraying criminals as disturbed individuals, thereby concealing the fact that it is the nature of capitalism that makes people criminals

Question 20

What does Chambliss suggest that crime control is focused on

Answer 20

On the WC; who are those most likely to be prosecuted for crime. Those of higher social classes are less likely to be prosecuted for offences, and, if they are, generally get treated more leniently. Also, if company bosses are charged, they have the money to buy the best legal advice

Question 21

What is the impression in official statistics

Answer 21

That crime is mostly a WC phenomenon due to selective enforcement

Question 22

What did Chambliss study

Answer 22

He studied crime in Seattle and found that those in power were able to use their power to conduct criminal activity and to avoid prison. He found an organised crime syndicate which included elite businessmen and politicians who used money and influence to bribe officials

Question 23

Evaluation- negative

It largely ignores the relationship between …

Answer 23

It largely ignores the relationship between crime and non-class inequalities such as ethnicity and gender

Question 24

Evaluation- negative

It is too deterministic…

Answer 24

And over-predicts the amount of crime in the WC: not all poor people commit crime, despite the pressures of poverty

Question 25

Evaluation- negative

The criminal justice system does sometimes act against …

Answer 25

The interests of the capitalist class. For example, prosecutions of corporate crime do occur. However, Marxists argue that such occasional prosecutions perform an ideological function in making the system seem impartial

Question 26

Evaluation- negative

What do left- realists argue

Answer 26

That Marxism ignores the intra-class crimes, where both the criminals and victims are WC, such as burglary and ‘mugging’, which cause great harm to victims. Marxist theories focus too much on corporate crime

Question 27

Evaluation- negative

What do feminists argue

Answer 27

That the theory ignores the role of patriarchy in rule creation and social control

Question 28

Neo-marxism

They argue that choosing crime is …

Answer 28

A voluntary act. They couple this with a view that WC crimes like theft, vandalism, burglary are meaningful and symbolic political acts of resistance to ruling class oppression

Question 29

Neo-marxism

What do Taylor, Walton and young agree with Marxists on (3)

Answer 29

• capitalist society is based on exploitation and class conflict and characterised by extreme inequalities of wealth and power
• the state makes and enforces laws in the interests of the capitalist class and criminalises members of the WC
• capitalism should be replaced with a classless society to reduce the extent of crime or even rid society or crime entirely

Question 30

Neo-marxism

However, how do Taylor, Walton and Young’s ideas differ from Marxists

Answer 30

They suggest that that to fully understand crime and deviance, how it was socially constructed and the motivations of offenders and the meanings they gave to their crimes, it was necessary to draw on both structural and interactionist approaches

Question 31

Neo-marxism

What did Taylor, Walton and Young aim to create

Answer 31

A comprehensive understanding of crime and deviance that would help to change society. They want to implement strategies to overcoming the crime

Question 32

Neo-marxism

Critical criminology: anti-determinism

What dd Taylor, Walton and Young argue about Marxism

Answer 32

That it is too deterministic. It sees workers as driven to commit crime out of economic necessity. They reject this explanation, along with theories that claim crime is caused by other external factors such as anomie, subcultures or labelling, or by biological or psychological factors

Question 33

Neo-marxism

Critical criminology: anti-determinism

Instead Taylor, Walton and Young take a …. view

Answer 33

They take a voluntaristic view- the idea that we have free will.

Question 34

Neo-marxism

Critical criminology: anti-determinism

How do T, W and Y see crime

Answer 34

As meaningful action and a conscious choice by the actor. They argue that crime often has a political motive, for example to distribute wealth from the rich to the poor. Criminals are not passive people whose behaviour is shaped by capitalism; they are deliberately striving to change society

Question 35

Neo-marxism

Critical criminology: A fully social theory of deviance

What was the first aspect of the theory of deviance

Answer 35

The wider origins id the deviant act- the unequal distribution of wealth and poor in capitalist society

Question 36

Neo-marxism

Critical criminology: A fully social theory of deviance

What was the SECOND aspect of the theory of deviance

Answer 36

The immediate origins of the deviant act- the particular context in which the individual decides to commit the act

Question 37

Neo-marxism

Critical criminology: A fully social theory of deviance

What was the THIRD aspect of the theory of deviance

Answer 37

The act itself and its meanings for the actor- was it a form of rebellion against capitalism?

Question 38

Neo-marxism

Critical criminology: A fully social theory of deviance

What was the FOURTH aspect of the theory of deviance

Answer 38

The immediate origins of social reaction- the reactions of those around the deviant, such as the police, family and community, to discovering the deviance

Question 39

Neo-marxism

Critical criminology: A fully social theory of deviance

What was the FIFTH aspect of the theory of deviance

Answer 39

The wider origins of social reaction in the structure of capitalist society- who has the power to define actions as deviant and to label others, and why are some acts treated more harshly than others?

Question 40

Neo-marxism

Critical criminology: A fully social theory of deviance

What was the SIXTH aspect of the theory of deviance

Answer 40

The effects of labelling on the deviant’s future actions- why does labelling lead to deviance amplification in some cases but not in others?

Question 41

Neo-marxism

Critical criminology: Amplification

Who was this theory applied by

Answer 41

Hall et al in their study of black mugging

Question 42

Neo-marxism

Critical criminology: Amplification

How did Hall et all analyse the situation of black mugging in terms of … (4 steps)

Answer 42

1) Social economic and political conditions- the country was In economic crisis. Unions and militants were threatening state power.
2) Motivations of the state-the government wanted to feel in control of the situation.
3) Motivations of the media- the press and broadcasters wanted a dramatic story
4) What happened- the police arrested more people. The media reported this and presented the muggers as a threat to society, creating and unjustified moral panic

Question 43

Neo-marxism

Critical criminology: Amplification

What did Hall et al suggest that crime was

Answer 43

That crime was used to reassert the dominance of ruling-class hegemony (the dominance in society of the ruling class’ set of ideas over others and acceptance of and consent to them by the rest of society).
-This was achieved by diverting people’s attention away from the wider structural causes of the crisis onto the problem of mugging by scapegoating young black people

Question 44

Neo-marxism

Critical criminology: Amplification

To reassert hegemony ….

Answer 44

The ruling-class owned media stirred up the public by exaggerating the problem of black crime and created demands for something to be done to stamp it out.

Question 45

Neo-marxism

Critical criminology: Amplification

What did Hall et all suggest the problem of black mugging

Answer 45

Hall et all suggest societal reaction to crime, fulled by media exaggeration created a moral panic (a wave of public concern about some exaggerated or imaginary threat to society, stirred up by overblown and sensationalised reporting in the media), shown my mounting public concerns about an alleged black crime, which helped to justify more repressive and aggressive policing. This became a means of re-establishing ruling-class hegemony in society rather than cracking down an opposition to the ruling class

Question 46

Neo-marxism- Evaluation

What do Feminists criticise this theory for

Answer 46

For being ‘gender blind’, focusing excessively on male criminality and at the expense of female criminality

Question 47

Neo-marxism- Evaluation

What do left-realists argue

Answer 47

That critical criminology romanticises WC criminals as ‘Robin Hoods’ who are fighting capitalism by redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor. However, in reality these criminals mostly prey on the poor. Taylor, Walton and Young are thought to not take this crime seriously and ignore its effects ln WC victims

Question 48

Neo-marxism- Evaluation

What does Burke argue

Answer 48

That critical criminology is both too general to explain crime and too idealistic to be useful in tackling crime

Question 49

Neo-marxism- Evaluation

Taylor, Walton and Young have all changed their views since their book was published. However, Walton and Young …

Answer 49

-Defend some aspects of the book. They argue that in calling for greater tolerance of diversity in behaviour, the book combated the ‘correctionalist bias’ in most existing theories

Question 50

Neo-marxism- Evaluation

Explain the correctionalist bias

Answer 50

The assumption that sociology’s role is simply to find ways of correcting deviant behaviour. They also believe that the book laid some of the foundations for later radical approaches that seek to establish a more just society such as left realist and feminist theories