Critical Theories Flashcards
What is conflict theory?
Views society as an arena of continual struggle between groups competing for resources and power
Asserts that some groups have privileged access to resources and power
Associated with work of Karl Marx
Who was Karl Marx?
Witnessed exploitation of proletariat by capitalists during industrial revolution
Believed that capitalism was alienating; capitalism alienated people from each other and from the products of their labour
Believed that proletariat would eventually overthrow the capitalists
Who was Throsten Sellin?
Cultural conflict theory
First criminologist to propose a conflict perspective
Cultural Conflict:
-when conduct norms clash on the border areas
between distinct cultures
-as a result of colonization, migration, or
immigration or when the laws of one cultural group are extended to cover the territory of another
What was the opium act in 1908?
British India that aimed to control and restrict the production, sale, and use of opium
It made it illegal for people to smoke opium without a license and banned the production of opium for personal use
The act was meant to reduce the negative effects of opium addiction and prevent its widespread use
It also placed heavy taxes on the opium trade
What was the Kanesatake/Oka, Quebec spring-summer conflict in 1990?
Was a standoff between the Mohawk people and the Canadian government in Oka, Quebec
It began when the town of Oka tried to expand a golf course onto land that the Mohawk community, from the nearby Kanesatake reserve, claimed was sacred
Tensions grew, leading to protests, barricades, and violent confrontations
The conflict lasted for about 78 days, with the Canadian military being called in to help
It brought attention to Indigenous land rights and sparked wider discussions on the treatment of Indigenous communities in Canada
What is group conflict theory?
Law-making is a political process involving conflict between interest groups
Two classes of group conflict that result in criminal behaviour:
1. Conflict between the behaviour of a minority group and the laws of the dominant majority
2. Crime occurs from conflict between competing interest groups vying for power
What is Bootleggers and Baptist theory according to Bruce Yandle?
Baptists and other strongly organized Christian groups were opposed to alcohol consumption/sales
= worked to eradicate its sale/consumption on
‘the Lords Day’ (Sunday)
Bootleggers also wanted more restrictions on the licit sale of alcohol
Politicians did not want to be seen working in the
bootleggers interests:
= but happy to accept their “campaign donations”
Politicians able to satisfy both groups by:
= decide on Sunday closings based on ’moral grounds’
What are the Marxist conflict perspectives?
Conflict is rooted in the very structure of capitalist society
Ex., in the production and distribution of goods and
services
What is instrumental Marxism?
Assumes the state and legal and political institutions…
= direct reflection of the interests of the are a ruling/capitalist class
Law is equated with class rule
What is structural Marxism?
Opposes instrumental Marxist assumption that the state is the direct servant of the ruling class
Argues that state institutions function in the long-term interests of capitalism -to reproduce capitalist society
The state and its institutions have a certain degree of independence from specific elites in the capitalist class
The state must have relative autonomy to mediate between divergent capitalist class factions
To preserve the long-term interests of the capitalist class:
-many laws are enacted that do not represent the immediate interests of the capitalist class
-acknowledges that the state is susceptible to the interests of powerful economic groups
What is Marxian theory of deviance?
Criminalization of behaviour is often directed at
problem populations that arise in capitalist
societies AKA proletariats:*
-surplus populations
-those who disturb capitalism
Ex. student radicals
Problem populations become candidates for
deviance processing when they disturb, hinder, or
call into question:
- capitalist modes of production
- social conditions within capitalism, etc
What is Marxian theory of juvenile delinquency?
Juveniles are excluded from access to income and become surplus population
This creates delinquency, because they cannot finance their leisure and social activities
Adolescent theft occurs because:
- conflict between the desire to participate in activities
-lack of legitimate sources of funding to finance these activities
What is Neo-Marxism according to Antonio Gramsci?
Prison notebooks:
Q: Why did Marx’s prediction of a working-class revolution never materialize?
Because of cultural hegemony:
- the domination of the masses by prevailing ideas and cultural forms important to smaller but more dominant groups in society
-through cultural means, the dominant group wins voluntary consent of popular masses
-unlike domination, which uses state force, works through families, schools and the hegemony
media
What was the Marxist research on corporate crime?
Focuses on the harmful conduct of those inside the sphere of production in capitalist economies
Assert that corporate crime has far greater negative impact on society compared to “street crime”
Argue that the profit maximization mandate of
capitalism:
= creates strong motivation for corporations to commit crimes and other socially harmful behaviours
Who was Michel Foucault?
“Toward an understanding of power”
Not focussed on centralized, top-down forms of power (e.g., the state; the sovereign)
Ex, repression/coercion
Saw power as ubiquitous and sometimes invisible:
= this form of power creates ‘docile bodies’ and
operates through subtle coercions
Where power is visible:
= there is increased potential of resistance
What are the 3 ways according to Michel Foucault power is always operating on us?
- Micro-powers: small and mundane relations of governance affecting human behaviour
- Discipline: ensures constant subjection and obedience (like a grade school teacher), which operates through:
- Surveillance: the direct or indirect observation of conduct toward producing a desired outcome (i.e., conformity)
Who was Nikolas Rose?
Tension in contemporary liberal (democratic) states:
1. respect for autonomy and privacy of individual
2. concern with controlling and governing such
individuals
Requires techniques to enable the ‘governing from a distance’ program
To shape, guide, and mould individuals while:
= allowing them to remain free
What is actuarialism, risk and risk society?
Whereas Foucault’s model of discipline was focused on the individual…
Risk society researchers focus on the spatial
and temporal aspects of crime
These researchers believe that surveillance today is not about detection and correction:
= but rather prevention and risk-spreading (actuarial)
These actuarial techniques of power are displacing discipline because they are more efficient in regulating populations
= more subtle!
What are actuarial techniques in actuarialism, risk & risk society?
Manipulate the environment
Act in situ rather than by separation
They act on categories of risk
Depoliticize -—> does not focus on structural
causes
What are the 3 aspects on governing from a distance (the building of social cohesion)?
- EDUCATION:
- promote attitude, beliefs and discipline - ETHOS:
- promote social cohesion, based upon central organization of values & beliefs - SURVEILLANCE:
- self-goverance, self-discipline
