Marxism Flashcards
What do traditional Marxists see society as being?
A structure in which the economic base determines the shape of the superstructure
What is the economic base?
The capitalist society
What is the superstructure?
All other social institutions, including the state, the law and the criminal justice system
Who own the means of production?
Bourgeoise
What is society based off?
Conflict - the inequality of wealth and power causes problems which explain crime and deviance
What are the 3 main elements of crime according to Marxists?
Criminogenic Capitalism
The state and Law making
Selective enforcement
What is criminogenic capitalism?
Crime is inevitable because of the exploitation of the working class
Why may working class people turn to crime?
If in poverty, crime is the only way to obtain consumer goods
Why may working class people turn to violence and vandalism as a rebellion?
They become alienated and lose control of their lives which results in frustration and aggression
Do capitalists commit any crimes?
Yes. Capitalism itself encourages capitalists to commit white collar and corporate crimes
Examples of white collar crimes
Fraud
Bribery
Cybercrime
Copyright infringement
Money laundering
Identity theft
Forgery
What is corporate crime?
Crimes committed by a corporation or business entity or by individuals acting on behalf of the corporation
What does the states and law making say about the capitalist society?
Law making and law enforcement only serve the interest of the capitalist class
Chambliss (1975)
Laws to protect private property are the cornerstone of the capitalist economy
How do the ruling class have more power?
They can prevent the introduction of laws that would threaten their interests
Snider (1993)
Capitalist state is reluctant to pass laws that regulate the activities of businesses or threaten their profitability
What does selective enforcement entail?
Powerless groups are criminalised
Reiman (2001)
‘Street crimes’ are more likely to be pursued by the police than ‘white collar’ crime - crime committed by higher class people are less likely to be treated as a criminal
Gordon (1976)
Selective enforcement of the law helps to maintain ruling class power and reinforce ruling class ideology
Pearce (1976)
Such laws benefit the ruling class too
Strengths of Marxist views
Offers explanation of the relationship between crime and capitalist society
Shows the link between law making and enforcement and the interests of the capitalist society
They offer a solution to crime - by replacing a capitalist society with a communist society, the root cause of crime would be removed
Weaknesses of Marxist views
Not all laws benefit the ruling class - traffic laws benefit everyone
It over predicts the amount of crime in the working class
The criminal justice system does sometimes act against the interests of a capitalist society - corporate crimes do occur
Gordon (1976)
Crime is a rational response to the capitalist system and is found in all social classes
