Marxism

Question 1

Croall - White Collar Crime

Answer 1

“Crime committed in the course of legitimate employment involving the abuse of an occupational role”

White collar crime connected to ability of powerful to manipulate values of society

Question 2

Snider - Corporate Crime

Answer 2

Most serious anti-social acts are corporate crime
Does more harm than street crime
Legislation to protect w/c often weakly enforced

Example:
Thalidomide 1950s
Drug faced inadequate regulation - caused birth defects in thousands
Company forced to pay £2 million a year - trust fund for children

Question 3

Neo - Marxism -

Cohen - skinhead subculture

Answer 3

Skinhead originated: multicultural, Jamaican immigrants&w/c. Evolved into white w/c culture of masculinity 
Tried to fight against class inequalities 
Crime committed: negatively labelled (racist, aggressive) by media

Question 4

Neo - Marxism -

Brake - subcultural theory

Answer 4

Resistance is shown: music, speech, clothes
Causes crime: angry against system, go against societies morals

A03 - functionalist argue w/c subcultures don’t hate capital but join subcultures to form an identity

Question 5

Neo - Marxism -

Hall - policing the crisis

Answer 5

Studied moral panic over muggings:
Black people used as a scapegoat for other social issues
Police began to randomly stop and search black youths
Deviancy amplification

Question 6

Marxism -

Althusser

Answer 6

Law is an ideological state apparatus makes it normal for some people to be extremely rich and some poor

Crime is the only way to survive poverty
Crime is the only way to obtain consumer goods = utilitarian crime
Alienation can create frustration = non-ulitarian crime

Question 7

Marxism -

Functions of crime

Answer 7

1. Capitalism encourages aggression and competition - exploitative system. Crimes motivated by financial gain. Chambliss states capitalism promotes greed - crime is normal outcome - especially w/c material deprived
2. Law reflects interests of dominant class - laws about protecting property. Laws enforced selectively eg corporate crime not prosecuted
3. Ideological functions - laws appear to benefit w/c but m/c. Health and safety laws - create a sense of false class consciousness. Focus on threatening street crime not m/c crime/done through media

Question 8

Gorden -

Law enforcement

Answer 8

Crime is a rational response to the capitalist system and it is found in all social classes - even though the official statistics make it appear to be largely working class phenomenon.

How does law enforcement support capitalism?
By punishing the w/c, blaming them and drawing attention away from the ‘system’.
Imprisoning the w/c neutralises opposition ‘legitimately’.
Defining criminals as enemies of the state justifies to keep them hidden - if made public they could question the whole ‘system’.