Marxism

Question 1

What do traditional Marxists see society as being?

Answer 1

A structure in which the economic base determines the shape of the superstructure

Question 2

What is the economic base?

Answer 2

The capitalist society

Question 3

What is the superstructure?

Answer 3

All other social institutions, including the state, the law and the criminal justice system

Question 4

Who own the means of production?

Answer 4

Bourgeoise

Question 5

What is society based off?

Answer 5

Conflict - the inequality of wealth and power causes problems which explain crime and deviance

Question 6

What are the 3 main elements of crime according to Marxists?

Answer 6

Criminogenic Capitalism

The state and Law making

Selective enforcement

Question 7

What is criminogenic capitalism?

Answer 7

Crime is inevitable because of the exploitation of the working class

Question 8

Why may working class people turn to crime?

Answer 8

If in poverty, crime is the only way to obtain consumer goods

Question 9

Why may working class people turn to violence and vandalism as a rebellion?

Answer 9

They become alienated and lose control of their lives which results in frustration and aggression

Question 10

Do capitalists commit any crimes?

Answer 10

Yes. Capitalism itself encourages capitalists to commit white collar and corporate crimes

Question 11

Examples of white collar crimes

Answer 11

Fraud

Bribery

Cybercrime

Copyright infringement

Money laundering

Identity theft

Forgery

Question 12

What is corporate crime?

Answer 12

Crimes committed by a corporation or business entity or by individuals acting on behalf of the corporation

Question 14

What does the states and law making say about the capitalist society?

Answer 14

Law making and law enforcement only serve the interest of the capitalist class

Question 15

Chambliss (1975)

Answer 15

Laws to protect private property are the cornerstone of the capitalist economy

Question 16

How do the ruling class have more power?

Answer 16

They can prevent the introduction of laws that would threaten their interests

Question 17

Snider (1993)

Answer 17

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

Question 18

What does selective enforcement entail?

Answer 18

Powerless groups are criminalised

Question 19

Reiman (2001)

Answer 19

‘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

Question 20

Gordon (1976)

Answer 20

Selective enforcement of the law helps to maintain ruling class power and reinforce ruling class ideology

Question 21

Pearce (1976)

Answer 21

Such laws benefit the ruling class too

Question 22

Strengths of Marxist views

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Weaknesses of Marxist views

Answer 23

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

Question 25

Gordon (1976)

Answer 25

Crime is a rational response to the capitalist system and is found in all social classes