marxism

Question 1

criminogenic capitalism

Answer 1

capitalism causes crime

capitalism is particularly damaging to the working class, giving rise to crime:
- poverty may mean crime is the only way to survive
- crime may be the only way they can obtain consumer goods encouraged by capitalist advertising , resulting in utilitarian crimes such as theft
- alienation and lack of control over their lives may lead to frustration and aggression resulting in non utilitarian crimes such as violence and vandalism

gordon - crime is a rational response to the capitalist system and is found in all social classes, even though the official statistics make it seem like a largely working class phenomenon

Question 2

the state and law making

Answer 2

see the law making and enforcement as only serving the interests of the capitalist class

chambliss - laws to protect private property are the cornerstone of the capitalist economy - english law in east african colonies

• economic interests lay in sugar, tea and coffee, which needed plentiful supply of local labour
• local money was not a money economy so to force reluctant population to work for them, britain introduced a tax payable in cash, non payment was a punishable criminal offence
• cash to pay tax could only be earned through working on plantations, serving the interest of the ruling class

ruling class have power to prevent the introduction of laws that would threaten their interests - few laws that challenge the unequal distribution of wealth

snider- the capitalist state is reluctant to pass laws that regulate the activities of businesses or threaten their profitability

Question 3

selective enforcement

Answer 3

powerless groups such as the working class and ethnic minorities are criminalised

police and courts tend to ignore crimes of the powerful

Question 4

ideological functions of crime and law

Answer 4

laws perform an ideological function for capitalism

pearce - argues that such laws often benefit the ruling class too - keeping workers fit for work. by giving capitalism a caring face, such laws create false consciousness among the workers

some laws are not rigorously enforced - despite a new law against corporate homicide being passed in 2007, in its first 8 years there was only one successful prosecution of a uk company despite the number of deaths estimated to be caused by employers negligence

because the state enforces laws selectively, crime appears to be a working class phenomenon - divides working class by encouraging workers to blame the criminals in the midst of their problems , rather than capitalism

Question 5

evaluation of marxism

Answer 5

offers a useful explanation of the relationship between crime and capitalist society

shows the link between law making and enforcement and the interests between law making and enforcement and the interests of the capitalist class

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

too deterministic and over predicts the amount of crime in the working class - not all poor people commit crime, despite the pressures of poverty

not all capitaist societies have high crime rates- japan and switzerland is a fifth of the usa

the criminal justice system does sometimes act against the interests of the capitalist class - prosecutions of corporate crime

left realists - ignores intra-class crime where both criminals and victims are working class which cause great harm to victims

Question 6

neo marxism - critical criminology

Answer 6

taylor et al agress with marxists that:

• capitalist societies 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 working class
• capitalism should be replaced by a classless society to greatly reduce the extent of crime or even rid society of crime entirely

Question 7

anti determinism

Answer 7

taylor et al argue that marxism is deterministic - sees workers as driven to commit crime out of economic necessity

crime is caused by anomie, labelling or biological/ psychological factors

take a more voluntaristic view, seeing crime as a meaningful action and a conscious choice - often has a political motive

criminals are not passive puppets whose behaviour is shaped by capitalism - they are deliberately striving to change society

Question 8

evaluation of critical criminology

Answer 8

feminists - gender blind

left realists:
- romanticises working class crime as robin hoods who are fighting capitalism by redistributing wealth - mostly prey on the poor
- do not take such crime seriously, ignore working class victims

hopkins-burke - too general to explain and crime and too idealistic to be useful in tackling crime