Marxism Flashcards
What are Marx’s key ideas?
1- Crime as a form of resistance
2- Manipulation of values
3- Law creation
4- Law enforcement
5- Motivation for crime
1- Crime as a form of resistance
Those involved in crime are victims of capitalist laws
- through crime are resisting the dominance and inequalities of the system
Crime is a fight back against oppression
2- Manipulation of values
Believe that street crime is a big threat, WC EM are perpetrators
- what is seen as criminal is defined and controlled by RC
Capitalists control our perceptions through the media
3- Law creation
The law is a reflection of he will of the powerful
The state receives large investments from corporations, create laws that protect them- minimum wage, workers health
What does Manheim say about law creation?
The law protects private property, protects the wealth and profit of the rich RC
What does Box say about law creation?
RC have an influence on law creation due to their influence on the government
How can tax avoidance and benefit fraud be used as examples of law creation?
Tax avoidance can be legal if people use accountants to move money to pay less tax this costs more money to the UK than benefit fraud
- harmful, not investing in society
Benefit fraud is illegal and the gov strongly clamp down on this, costs much less to the UK than tax avoidance
- only benefits the powerful
4- Law enforcement
Laws are enforced selectively, bias in favour of those at the top
- street crimes are more likely to be pursued by the police than white collar/corporate crime
e.g. BF is more likely to be pursued than TF by businesses
- inner cities have more police on patrol, more confrontational approach to thee groups
5- Motivation for crime
In capitalist society the focus is on competition and the acquisition of wealth
- desire for wealth infiltrates
What does Gordon say about the motivations for crime?
Sees capitalism as crimogenic
- inherently likely to produce crime because it creates a competitive ‘dog eat dog’ society
5- Motivation for crime
REIMAN
Believes that capitalism does not just encourage utilitarian crime
- frustration
5- Motivation for crime
non-utilitarian crime
Murder, rape, violence can also be explained as capitalism creates social injustice in society
- economic failure is a source of shame in society and can cause and individual to feel frustrated and turn to various forms of crime
Challenges to the marxist theory
X WC commit crimes against WC
X not all WC commit crime
X non-utilitarian crime, not wealth orientated
X most laws are made in the interests of everyone
X getting rid of capitalism would not remove crime
X too simplistic-other factors
Grenfell tower disaster
High-rise fire
- fire safety equipment not tested or replaced
- evidence of pursuit of profit
- unsafe cladding, government allowed it , testing approved
- exposed gas pipes, highly flammable building materials
- 72 deaths
- failed to keep people safe
What does neo-marxism AGREE with traditional marxism on?
Taylor, Watson and Young
- class conflict and extreme inequality is the cause of crime
- the state makes and enforces law in the interests of the powerful
- replacing capitalism with a classless society would reduce crime
What are neo-marxists critical of traditional marxists?
X Marxism is deterministic
- the idea that economic inequality forces people to commit crime
X functionalist and subcultural theories
What do neo-marxists believe?
They take a voluntaristic theory of crime
- people have free will
- crime is a choice to try and change society
Neo-marxism The new criminology
combine structural and social action
S- The wider origins of the act
- the immediate origins of the act
- the act itself
SA- the wider origins of the social reaction
- immediate origins of social reaction
- the effects of labelling
What are some criticisms of neo-marxism The New Criminology?
X romanticising WC criminals
X doesn’t provide solutions to crime
X ignores the victims of crime
What are some examples of crimes of the powerful?
- fraud
- tax avoidance
-break health and safety laws - state crime
- organised crime
- environmental crime
How does Sutherland define white collar/corporate crime?
A crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation
What are the 2 different types of white collar crime?
1- Occupational
2- Corporate
What is occupational crime?
Committed by employees for their own personal gain
e.g. expenses fraud, claim what you haven’t spent
What is corporate crime?
Committed by employees for their organisation in pursuit of its goals
e.g. making money, don’t pay minimum wage, health and safety regulations
What is a societal example of occupational crime?
In 2009, MPs claimed excess amounts, 2nd houses rent
- had t pay the money back
- only a few prison sentences
What are the 5 reasons for the invisibility of white collar crime?
1- Media
2- Politics
3- Police
4- Law
5- Under reporting
How does the media help in making white collar crime invisible?
Focuses on WC crime
- RC control it won’t implicate themselves
How do politics help in making white collar crime invisible?
Are the criminals
- lots to gain by focusing on street crime
- easier to deal with
How do the police help in making white collar crime invisible?
More in WC areas
- lack of resources on white collar crime
How does the law help in making white collar crime invisible?
Protects the,
- not illegal
Hoe does under reporting help in making white collar crime invisible?
Hard to detect
- anonymous
- puts their jobs at risk
- unaware
Are these types of crime becoming more visible?
Media reports pressure groups/social movements
- draws our attention to it
What are the 3 types of harm caused by corporations according to Tombs?
1- Physical
- death, injury, illness, discrimination
2- Environmental
- pollution, species
3- Economic
- losing money, USA, white collar crime cost 10X
What can we conclude about the victims of corporate crime?
People without power
- women
- young people
Other businesses, anyone
What are the 5 different explanations for cirme?
1- Strain theory
2- Differential association theory
3- De labelling
4- Techniques of neutralisation
5- Marxism
How does Strain theory explain corporate crime?
Box
- cannot achieve goal of maximising profit legally, more tempted to break the law
Clinard and Yeager
- law violations by large companies increased as financial performance deteriorated
How does differential association theory explain corporate crime?
Sutherland
- crime is behaviour learned from others, more we associate with people with criminal attitudes, more likely we are to commit deviant acts
Gies
- individuals join companies where illegal price-fixing was practised, more involvement
How does de labelling theory explain corporate crime?
Nelken
- power to avoid labelling
- lawyers, accountants, tax avoiding schemes
- reduce seriousness of charge
- reluctance of law enforcement to investigate
How do techniques of neutralisation explain corporate crime?
Sykes and Matza
- deviate easily by producing justifications
WCC
- blame victim ‘carrying out orders’
- normalise ‘everyone’s doing it’
- learnt techniques socialised
How does Marxist theory explain corporate crime?
Box
- mystification, corporate crime is more widespread than WC crime
Pearce
- sustains illusion exceptions rather than norm, avoids causing crisis of legitimacy
Who studied organised crime?
Chambliss
What are some of the organised crime Chambliss identified?
Gambling, prostitution, sale/distribution of drugs
What does Chambliss mean when he says that those involved in organised crime in America ‘belong to the political and economic elite’?
People of a higher class status
- politicians, police
How does Chambliss’ study support the marxist theory of crime?
Middle class crime is hidden and less likely to be punished
Who else studies organised crime?
Hobbs and Dunningham
What do Hobbs and Dunningham mean by ‘glocal’ crime?
Global connections involved but it remains locally based
How do Hobbs and Dunningham believe organised crime has changed compared to the past?
Large criminal organisations- small-scale loose-knit
What link can be made between capitalism and organised crime?
Those from higher classes exploit the WC in the pursuit of wealth
- combine legal and illegal activities
- treat criminal enterprise as a business
Evaluations of Marxist theory of crime
X If WC is a rebellion why do they commit it against other WC people
C- Reiman- frustration
X what about non-utilitarian crime
X corporate state crime is often punished harshly when uncovered
X other things can influence law such as pressure groups
X some capitalist countries have relatively low crime
(Japan and Switzerland)
