Marxism + Crime Flashcards
Traditional Marxism - Criminogenic capitalism
• Agree with functionalists that crime is inevitable but believe capitalism is the cause
• Capitalism encourages greed + selfishness
- wc commit crime to obtain goods
- bourg commit crime for profit
• Capitalism is based on inequality
- wc live in poverty in a world obsessed with material wealth –> frustrated by lack of success = aggressive + destructive crime
Traditional Marxism - Capitalism Causes Crime - Gordan
• Crime is a rational response to the system
• Crime is found in all classes
• Middle class crime:
- mc stimulated by greed
- bourg control RSA + ISA so overlook these crimes
Traditional Marxism - Evaluating Criminogenic Capitalism
• Deterministic –> all wc suffer strain why don’t all commit crime
• Communist countries still have crime
• Functionalism –> crime is a function
• Realists –> too sympathetic to wc criminal - ignores real victim
• Feminists –> ignores women
Traditional Marxism - Role of state in law making + enforcement - Chambliss
• Crime only appears to be a wc phenomenon because bourg make laws in own interest
• State make laws + enforces by RSA (Bourg control)
• Soc learn about crime through ISA - Bourg control
• Law enforcement protection Bourg against wc - police control in poor areas + large corporate crime rarely investigated
Traditional Marxism - Role of State in Law making + Enforcement - Seattle Study
• Interviewed prostitutes, police, thieves etc
- every group committed crime
• only wc caught- wealth gets you out of trouble
• 70% if reported crime = drunken disorder in wc area - focus
• Eval - not representative + out of date
Traditional Marxism - Ideological Function - Selective Enforcement - Sunderland- Types of mc crime
• White collar crime committed by mc often in work (fraud, embezzlement)
• Corporate crime committed on behalf of organisation (tax evasion)
• WC crime distracts from mc
• Thalidomide scandal –> drug to help morning sickness claimed tested scientifically led to children dev disabilities
Traditional Marxism - Ideological Function - Selective Enforcement - Pearce - Corporate underrepresented
• Corporate crime underrepresented
- White collar + corporate crime worth 2x more than all robbery in US
Traditional Marxism - Ideological Function - Selective Enforcement - Hughes + Langan - White collar underrepresented (4 reasons)
• Whitw collar crime underrepresented:
1) Low visibility–> hidden from public gaze
2) Complexity –> hard to understand- don’t know which laws broken
3) Diffusion of responsibility–> difficult to blame 1 person
4) Diffusion of victimisation –> seen as victimless - no obvious victims
Traditional Marxism - Ideological Function - Why don’t we care about mc crime? - Box + Croal - RC + Media
• Box –> RC promotes ideas corporate crime is less serious + harmful
• Croal –> media uses soft words to describe (rip offs) compared to hard words (fraud)
Traditional Marxism - Ideological Function - Divide + Conquer - Pearce
• MC crime prosecutions rare so people believe wc commit more crime
• WC are scapegoats to allow rc to commit crime
• Law used to divide + conquer wc
- focus in wc crime - turn on each other
- portray wc crime as real problem
Traditional Functionalism - Evaluating Ideological Functions - Pearce
• Occasionally laws made appear to benefit wc
- health + safety, minimum wage, NHS
- But are a way to protect mc assets: health + safety –> can’t sue, minimum wage –> low paid stuck + legitimises lack of pay rise
Traditional - Strengths of Marxist Theory
• Explains why wc more involved in crime –> strain
• Provides with a solution –> communism
Traditional Marxism - Weaknesses
• Communist countries have crime
• Too sympathetic to wc criminal - ignores most victims of wc crime are wc
• Most people aren’t worried about mc crime
