Marxism Flashcards
What do Marxist believe ?
They see society as a structure based on conflict rather than consensus. This is because of the unequal conflict between two classes.
Marxists believe that society is unequal because…
The bourgeoisie who own the means of production exploits the proletariat who are the working class. And all society’s institutions like religion and education help to maintain the class inequality and capitalism. ‘The rich are getting richer and the poor is staying poor, so everything in society is designed by the ruining class to brainwash the subject class and to keep them oppressed’.
How does capitalism cause crime?
-the bourgeoisie have money but want more money leading to crime like tax evasion and white collar crime.
-exploitation leads to alienation which can lead to frustration leading to crime like vandalism
-capitalism constantly pushes consumerism at people through advertising leading to crime for those who can’t afford it.
What is meant by ‘making and enforcing the law’?
-law making and enforcement serve in the interests of the capitalist society. For example the are laws against homeless squatting in empty houses but no law against the rich owning several houses.
The law is enforced selectively, but the focus is on enforcing crimes against the working classes but not the upper classes. For example corporate crime is punished less severely often with fines rather than jail.
What is meant by ‘capitalist ideology’?
Selective enforcement makes it look as if crime is the fault of the working class. This divides the working class even further. This also shifts the attention away from much more serious ruining class crime. Some laws do benefit workers to a limited extent, such as health and safety laws, however these also benefit capitalism by giving it a ‘caring face’. Encouraging the working class to accept capitalism instead of replacing it with more equal society.
What are some evaluations of Marxism?
-STRENGTHS: It demonstrates how capitalism promotes greed and upper classes crime.
-WEAKNESSES: focuses on class and largely ignores relationships between crime and other inequality like gender and race.
