Marxism (Class and Crime) (brief) Flashcards
Marxists believe the structure of capitalist society explains crime.
What are the three questions which shape the Marxist theory?
- who makes the law and who benefits?
- who breaks the law and who gets caught?
- why break the law and how is it enforced?
What relationship do the state and lawmaking have?
- the state make the laws for the benefit of the RC and therefore reflect their interests
- laws are part of the superstructure and therefore are an instrument of the RC to maintain power and control
What does Mannheim note?
- the history of legislation in capitalist countries shows the excessive prominence given by the law to the protection of property
What does Chambliss claim about industrialisation?
- there was a rise in importance of trade and commerce -
- this was reflected in the increasing number of laws designed to protect the interests of the emerging capitalist class
What does Snider reveal about the government?
- they are often reluctant to pass laws that regulate capitalist corporations and threaten their profitability
- after offering large sums of money to attract inward investment by corporations, governments are unwilling to alienate them
What is an example of the ideological function that lawmaking provides for capitalists?
- laws are occasionally passed that seem to benefit the wc, eg. health and safety laws
- however, they still benefit capitalism
- keeps workers fit and healthy
- provides a ‘caring face’ of capitalism
- creates a false consciousness
- can also avoid being sued if the laws are in place
Which views do Marxists expand upon, develop, and embed in a more structural context?
- Interactionist
How is the fiction that the law operates for the benefit of society as a whole and the myth that the extent of RC crime is small perpetuated?
- powerless groups ie. wc and ethnic minorities are criminalised
- crimes of the powerful are ignored
- occasional prosecution of their crimes provides this fiction
How does Gordon argue that crime is not confined to the working class?
- crime is a rational response to the capitalist system
- resultantly is found in all social classes
- official statistics make it appear as a wc problem
How does the capitalist system encourage capitalists to commit crime?
- it is a system of ruthless competition
- profit motive encourages a mentality of greed and self-interest
Marxists believe capitalism is criminogenic. What kind of explanation does Bonger provide?
- an explanation for criminal motivation which is firmly rooted in the economics and culture of capitalism
- believes the economic infrastructure of capitalism has a major influence on behaviour, social relationships, beliefs and values which contribute to criminal behaviour
What three aspects of the capitalist economic infrastructure does Bonger emphasise that majorly influence behaviour, values etc. that contribute to criminal behaviour?
- the capitalist mode of production emphasises maximising profits and accumulating wealth
- behaviour is motivated by economic self-interest rather than public duty
- personal gain rather than collective well-being is encouraged
How does Bonger conclude that the culture of capitalism encourages individuals to break the law?
- crime is a perfectly normal outcome of capitalist values because they are the same values that encourage criminal behaviour
How does Chambliss reflect on and develop Bonger’s ideas?
- argues that the culture and economics of capitalism motivates crime on all levels of society
- members of each class use whatever means and opportunity they have to commit crime ie. mugger as opposed to lawyer
Contrasting to functionalists, what do Marxists argue about law enforcement?
- it is enforced selectively in a systematically class biased fashion
Gordon believes law enforcement serves a number of important functions.
A) How do they perpetuate the prevalent ideology that individuals rather than society are to blame for social problems?
- blame and condemnation is directed at the individual rather than the institution of capitalism
Gordon believes law enforcement serves a number of important functions.
B) How does crime divert attention from the exploitative nature of capitalism?
- focuses on the evil and frightening nature of criminal individuals
- conceals the nature of capitalism which makes people criminals
Gordon believes law enforcement serves a number of important functions.
C) How does capitalism neutralise opposition to the system?
- through the targeting and imprisonment of selected members of the subject class
- working class areas and black communities house the potentially most potentially revolutionary sections of the population
Gordon believes law enforcement serves a number of important functions.
D) How does the selective application of the law benefit capitalism?
- reinforces the idea that crime is a largely working-class phenomenon
- divides and fragments the wc - there is a tendency to see their enemies as criminals within their own class and not the ruling class
Gordon believes law enforcement serves a number of important functions.
D) How does the selective application of the law provide a safety valve?
- frustration and hostility is directed towards criminals - releasing aggression which might otherwise be directed towards the RC
Does the Marxist theory explain non-utilitarian crime? However, how could some crime that seems non-utilitarian still be produced by the culture of capitalism/ be related to economic control?
- no - not all crime is a response to capitalism (ie. serial killers)
- however, crimes such as rape/ domestic abuse may relate to controlling money and as a product of the jealousy/ power they believe capitalism breeds
How can some laws actually reflect wc interests?
- pressure groups/ campaigners may have wc interests at heart
How could the theory be considered too economically deterministic?
- not everyone commits utilitarian crime and we all live in the same capitalist society
- not everyone is motivated by wealth
Does the safety valve always work?
- no, there is evidence of aggression towards the RC
How could the false consciousness be challenged?
- exaggerate the extent to which people are deluded about the law - ie. protests and riots
Although class inequalities are important to consider, what inequalities do they ignore?
- racial inequalities
- gender inequalities
How could capitalist actions sometimes be beneficial for us too?
- ie. production of gadgets to produce profit also benefit us
How could the CJS be said to act against the interests of the RC sometimes?
- political scandal of a few years ago
Do all capitalist societies have high crime rates?
- Japan and Switzerland have much less crime than the US
