Marxism, class and crime

Question 1

Criminogenic capitalism (working class)

Answer 1

Exploitation of the proletariat gives rise to crime through:

• Poverty means that crime may be the only way the working class can survive
• Crime may be the only way to obtain consumer goods encouraged by capitalist advertising, resulting in utilitarian crime
• Alienation may lead to frustration, resulting in non utilitarian crime like violence and vandalism

Question 2

Criminogenic capitalism

capitalists

Answer 2

Profit incentive leads to capitalist white collar and corporate crimes like tax evasion

Question 3

Chambliss

Answer 3

Laws that protect private property are the cornerstone of the capitalist economy. Example:

Question 4

What example does Chambliss cite in support of his statement on the laws that protect private property?

Answer 4

Introduction of English law into Britain east African colonies. Britain was interested in the tea and coffee produced by east African plantations, which required physical labour. However, the local economy was not a money economy and therefore had no incentive to offer their service. So, the British introduced a tax payable in cash which was a criminal offence to not pay, which could only be earned by working on the plantations.

Question 5

Pearce

Answer 5

Laws that seem to benefit the working class i.e. health and safety laws actually benefit the bourgeoisie by keeping them fit to work. By making it look like the ruling class care, it creates a false consciousness among workers

Question 6

Why does crime appear to only be a working-class phenomenon

Answer 6

The state enforces the law selectively, resulting in more cases of working-class crime being recorded as their crimes are not ignored like those of the powerful

Question 7

Disturbed individuals

Answer 7

By portraying criminals as mentally disturbed, the fact that the nature of capitalism makes people criminals is concealed

Question 8

Evaluation of Marxist theory

Answer 8

1. Deterministic, overpredicts the amount of working-class crime. Not all poor people commit crime even though they are under the pressure of poverty
2. Not all capitalist societies have high crime rates, so whether it is capitalism that facilitates crime can be debated
3. Left realists argue that intraclass crime is ignored (burglary and mugging amongst the working class)