Marxism, Class and Crime

Question 1

Criminogenic capitalism

Answer 1

• Crime is caused by capitalism.
• Capitalism is criminogenic - it makes crime inevitable.

Question 2

Benefit fraud and tax evasion

Answer 2

BF - Committed almost exclusively by the poor,
falsely claiming benefits you’re not entitled to.
TE - Committed almost exclusively by the rich,
not paying taxes you’re supposed to.

Question 3

What groups are more likely to be on the receiving end of law enforcement?

Answer 3

• Working class
• The young
• Black people
  Greater police presence amongst these populations than elsewhere.

Question 4

Criticisms of Marxist explanations:

Answer 4

• Highly deterministic (they rarely consider notions of free-will)

Question 5

Marxists view on the law:

Answer 5

It perpetuates ruling-class ideology.

Question 6

Marxist views on why people commit crime:

Answer 6

• Capitalism = economic factors force people to act in various ways.

Question 7

Neo-Marxism (Critical Criminology)

Answer 7

• See crime as voluntaristic, they choose to do it. Trad Marxists say W/C people are forced to.
• Criminals are deliberately striving to change society.

Question 8

White-collar crime

Answer 8

Crimes committed by persons of respectability and high social status in the course of their occupations.

Question 8

Two-types of white-collar crime:

Answer 8

Occupational = committed by employees for their own personal gain.
Corporate = committed by employees for their organisation in pursuit of its own goals.

Question 9

Types of corporate crime:

Answer 9

• Financial
• Crimes against consumers
• Crimes against employees
• Crimes against the environment
• State-corporate crimes

Question 10

The invisibility of corporate crime
Why do people rarely see corporate crime as a bad thing?
(DLUTT)

Answer 10

De-labelling = because it doesn’t get labelled as a crime, people don’t think it’s bad.
Lack of political will = don’t do a lot about corporate crime.
Under-reporting = doesn’t get reported.
The media = focus disproportionately on W/C crime.
The crimes are often too complex = might not make a good story

Question 11

Explanations of corporate crime:

Answer 11

Strain theory (Merton) (Clinard and Yeager)
Differential association (Sutherland)
Labelling theory
Marxism (Box - mystification)