Explanations - neo-Marxist / Radical Criminology Flashcards
What’re they saying
Neo Marxists accept that society is characterised by certain groups conflicting with each other, they argue
that they all share a common unequal distribution of power and wealth. Although they share the same
views as Marxism, they have much in common with Interactionism as they argue that criminality occurs
through the working class being more likely to be exploited as they have less power. New Criminologists
believe people are not puppets of the economy and many crimes are politically motivated, for example
theft is an attempt to redistribute wealth and give to the poor, which is a robin hood style explanation
people are also deviant to demonstrate their opposition to capitalism, for example drug taking is the
response to rebel against materialism and vandalism.
What’s Hall saying
Hall argues the moral panic on ‘black muggers’ was used during the economic crisis, where black males
and white males competed for occupations, causing tension. This led to police reactions and court cases
of mugging, coupled with media reporting that created a moral panic and linked race with crime. Hall
argues the ‘black mugger’ moral panic was used to negatively amplify black males, so that they were
seen as a scapegoat, and people took less notice of the capitalist system. The merge of Marxism and
interactionism provides a full social theory which deals with the origins of crime and reactions society
creates.
What’s the CCCS saying
The CCCS studied spectacular youth subculture, such as the mods, skinheads and punks and found their
identity was formed due to societal reactions and the conditions of the economy. The styles of each
subculture were an expression of resistance against capitalism and class inequalities. By combining
Marxism and interactionism, radical criminology opened new ways of understanding crime and deviance.
(-) Feminist criticism of neo-Marxism
However, radical criminologists are criticized by Feminists as they ignore the influence of women who
face rape and domestic violence and has no political movie, which is what new criminologists explain
through criminal acts. They ignore the working class as victims of crime
(-) Postmodernist criticism of neo-Marxism
Postmodernists criticise new criminology for arguing crime is fluid and doesn’t depend on social
background, Katz argues crime is more individualist and people turn to crime in order to enter risk taking
as they’re bored. Lyng also argue that crimes are because of edgework, and people turn to crime for the
thrills and excitement
