Left Realism (brief)

Question 1

In late modernity, how has the marginalisation and exclusion of those at the bottom increased?

Answer 1

• instability, exclusion, insecurity has increased
• de-industrialisation and loss of unskilled manual jobs -increased unemployment and poverty
• destabilised family and community life and contributed to rising divorce rates due to New Right cutting back on welfare spending

Question 2

In late modernity, how has a sense of relative deprivation increased?

Answer 2

• greater inequality between rich and poor
• spread of free market values encouraging individualism
• cultural inclusion and economic exclusion

Question 3

How has relative deprivation become more generalised throughout society?

Answer 3

• widespread resentment at undeservedly high rewards of some
• ‘relative deprivation downwards’ where the middle class resent stereotypical underclass as idle and irresponsible, living off the state

Question 4

How has late modern society become a high crime society with a low tolerance of crime?

Answer 4

• informal social controls have become less effective as families and communities disintegrate
• this, along with rising crime, makes the public more intolerant to crime

Question 5

What do Kinsey, Lea and Young argue about policing and control within ‘tackling crime’?

Answer 5

• police clear-up rates are too low to act as a deterrent
• the public have to be more involved in determining police priorities and style
• but police are losing public support and information is ‘drying up’
• police then turn to military tactics which alienates communities
• policing must deal with local concerns
• mulit-agency approach is needed (including social services, housing departments, schools etc.)

Question 6

What do left realists say about tackling the structural causes within ‘tackling crime’?

Answer 6

• improved policing and control is not the main solution
• causes of crime lie in unequal structure of society and major structural changes are needed if levels of offending are to be reduced

Question 7

How have left realists influenced government policy?

Answer 7

• labour’s firmer approach to policing hate crimes, sexual assault, domestic violence and introduction of ASBOs echoes left realist concerns about protecting vulnerable groups

Question 8

How does Young criticise the record of governments?

Answer 8

• largely only addressed the symptoms rather than tackling the underlying causes such as insecurity, inequality and discrimination

Question 9

How do left realists feel about OS?

Answer 9

• they’re not an objective indicator of the true nature and extent of crime
• they do accurately reflect the higher rate of criminality in the working class

Question 10

How do Lea and Young criticise Gilroy and his ‘myth of black criminality’?

Answer 10

• seriously question view that police racism accounts for statistics which suggest blacks are more prone to crime
• 92% of crimes known to police are brought to their attention via the public

Question 11

How do left realists criticise Marxism?

Answer 11

• critical of what they view as ‘left idealism’
• left realists believe wc crime is higher whereas Marxists interpret that it appears as such due to harsher policing and selective law enforcement

Question 12

How do left realists question Gilroy?

Answer 12

• they question why he has difficulty accepting that racial discrimination and higher unemployment rates might result in higher rates of black criminality

Question 13

Why do left realists focus more on street crime?

Answer 13

• believe it is a serious problem
• acknowledge that white collar and corporate crime rates are significantly higher than the OS suggests but the crime that worries people the most is street crime - just happens to be committed mostly by the wc

Question 14

As part of left realists desire to take crime seriously in a realistic way, what do they recognise and what do they believe emerged?

Answer 14

• from 1950s+ there was a real increase in crime

- led to an aetiological crisis in which there was collective denial that the increase was real

Question 15

How do left realists believe relative deprivation is a cause of crime?

Answer 15

• ‘the lethal combination is relative deprivation and individualism’
• causes crime by encouraging self-interest at expense of others
• causing the disintegration of families/ communities by undermining values of mutual support/ selflessness
• weakens informal controls that these groups exercise

Question 16

How do left realists believe marginalisation is a cause of crime?

Answer 16

• groups lack clear goals and organisations to represent their interests in political life
• lead to increased hostility and resentment against the establishment
• groups are prone to violence + rioting as political action

Question 17

How do left realists believe subcultures are a cause of crime?

Answer 17

• if a group suffer relative deprivation and marginalisation they may develop lifestyles to help them cope
• subcultures still subscribe to mainstream goals but often emphasise antagonism towards police + authority

Question 18

How is the theory too generalised?

Answer 18

• relative deprivation could lead to crime but not always

Question 19

Left realists perpetuate the myth that crime is a wc problem. How?

Answer 19

• solely focus on street crime which ignores crimes of powerful

Question 20

Is military policing always used?

Answer 20

• no, policing was vary from time to time and place to place

Question 21

Left realists assume all families/ communities are fractured. Are they?

Answer 21

• no

Question 22

In what way could they be said to victimise the criminals?

Answer 22

• ignore the real victims of crime