Marxism, Class and Crime Flashcards
Describe criminogenic capitalism as causing WC crime
- For Marxists, crime is inevitable in capitalism as capitalism is criminogenic (its nature causes crime). Capitalism is based on exploiting the WC which is damaging to the WC which may give rise to crime:
- Poverty may mean crime is the only way the WC can survive, crime may be the only way they can obtain goods that the media advertises which leads to utilitarian crimes, alienation of the WC may lead to aggression resulting in non-utilitarian crimes such as violence
Describe how the state and laws cause crime (and 2 examples)
- Marxists see law making and law enforcement as only benefiting the MC and limiting the WC
- e.g. the vagrancy laws in England required workers to accept work at a low, fixed wage, which stopped the WC from selling their labour for higher wages, ensuring they stayed in poverty
- Capital gains laws in the US introduced lower taxes in stock markets to benefit the RC who invest lots of money
Describe selective enforcement
- Its the idea that the state only reinforces laws when it’s beneficial for them and laws are more often applied to the WC and ethnic minority groups. Gordon argues ‘selective law enforcement’ benefits capitalism in 3 ways:
- Ignores the failings of the system that lead to conditions of inequality which generates crime, the imprisonment of certain MC neutralises opposition to the system, and it sweeps out of sight the ‘worst jetsam of capitalist society’ so that we can’t see it.
Give an example of selective enforcement
- In the Grenfell Tower fire, there was issues with the buildings cladding that wasn’t checked with health and safety laws, and this is was caused the fire to spread so quickly.
- Despite this being supposedly investigates, no one was really punished, because the people in charge are RC
Describe the ideological functions of crime and law
- The law and crime perform an ideological function for capitalism as laws are passed that appear to benefit WC but just benefit capitalism
- The media also contributes to creating this class divide and the controlling of people’s ideas by portraying criminals as disturbed individuals and they overplay WC crime, this conceals the fact that the nature of capitalism makes people criminals.
Describe examples of the ideological functions of laws
- Pearce argues that laws, such as healthy and safety laws, mean that people feel safer to go to work and this maintains the workforce. So by giving capitalism a ‘caring face’, these laws also create false consciousness among workers
- Graham argues that drug laws, which is seen as a WC crime, prevents people from making money elsewhere and having to working in the system for the bourgeoise
Why might the media sensationalise WC crime and prosecute some RC crime?
- The media has the power to manipulate and take the focus off the hidden world leaders’ crimes so the sensationalization of WC crime acts as a distraction
- The media prosecutes some WC as they need a scapegoat as the WC might questions things. So this keeps the WC quiet and controls the WC minds by maintaining solidarity
Give evaluation for Marxism (acting against RC)
The criminal justice system does act against the interests of the capitalist class, as e.g. prosecutions for corporate crime do occur. However, Marxists argue that such occasional prosecutions an ideological function in making the system seem impartial
Give evaluation for Marxism (deterministic)
It’s too deterministic and over-predicts the amount of crime in the WC: not all poor people commit crime, despite the pressure of poverty
