Marxism + Neo-Marxism Flashcards
4 foci of capitalism that make it criminogenic according to Gordon
greed, materialism, profit and competition
3 ideological state apparatus (Althusser)
education, religion and media
corporate crime
crimes committed by corporations for the benefit of the business e.g. fraud and health and safety laws
why do marxists believe that crime is inevitable?
view it as a product of the capitalist system
white collar crime
non-violent crimes committed by businesses e.g. fraud
selective law enforcement
the cjs applies the law to different social groups in different ways
which sociologist is associated with the idea that health and safety laws are a way of hiding selective law making?
pearce
which 2 societies are used to criticise the idea of capitalism being criminogenic?
capitalist societies
2 formal agents of social control
police and judiciary
2 informal agents of social control
family and peer groups
who are the 3 main sociologists associated with neo-marxist theory of crime?
taylor, walton and young
fully social theory
crime is influenced by various social factors e.g. socialisation
in what 3 ways does neo-marxism agree with marxist theory of crime?
- Capitalism based on exploitation
- State creates and enforces laws for the benfit of the ruling class
- Capitalism should be replaced with a classless society
study on black muggers in 1970s
hall - policing the crisis
what do neo-marxists mean when they criticise marxism as being deterministic?
w/c criminals are still responsible for their own actions
6 aspects of the fully social theory of deviance
wider origins of the deviant act, immediate origins of the deviant act, act itself and the meaning behind it, immediate origins of the social reaction, wider origins of social reaction and effect of labelling
criticism of neo-marxism
gives an overly romantic view of criminals
moral panic
widespread fear or concern about a group in society
what way do left realists criticise neo-marxist theories of crime
majority of crime is against w/c
Why is Capitalism criminogenic?
Gordon
it leads to crime as it causes exploitation of the w/c, capitalism leads to an ever increasing gap between the rich and poor
Selective Law Enforcement
(Reiman)
ruling class are more likely to commit crime but less likely to have the offence treated as a criminal one
Example = fraud committed by the poor and almost always leads to prosecution but tax evasion doesn’t
What is Selective Law Making?
Chambliss
laws themselves are socially constructed to benefit the rich and powerful
Box
argues that the rich often engage in activities which result in injury, theft and fraud but the activities are protected under the law = Health and Safety Laws
Evaluation of Marxist Theories
- Ignores other causes of crime = focuses on class inequalities and ignores others e.g. gender and ethnicity
- Ignores victims of crime = most victims are poor and w/c
- Passive w/c = suggests that the w/c cannot help but commit crimes due to their economic circumstance
In what 4 ways can crime be considered voluntarist?
- criminals make a conscious choice to commit crime
- political motives behind crime
- criminals are not passive puppets of capitalism
- free will
Neo-Marxist Evaluation
- Rock = overly romantic view of criminals
- Left realism = majority of crime is against w/c
-Theory is idealistic and difficult to apply to real life
- Not all crimes are politically motivated e.g. domestic violence isn’t
