Marxist and neo-Marxist explanations of crime

Question 1

Criminogenic capitalism -

Explain in terms of what marxists believe?

Answer 1

Marxist believe that the economic system of capitalism causes crime and is therefore criminogenic, with the system being based on the exploitation of the working class by the ruling class, leading to the ever‐increasing wealth of one class and ever‐increasing poverty of the other.
It is therefore not surprising that those who cannot afford the  basic necessities of life might turn to crime to provide what their employers do not.

Question 2

Law making and critical criminology -

What do marxists believe about the laws in place to try to prevent this type of exploitation?

Answer 2

That such laws still help employers, laws governing minimum wage or rights for trade unions were clearly introduced in the interests of the proletariat, not the bourgeoisie. While some Marxists might suggest that such laws are in the long‐term interests of capitalism because they prevent revolution.

Question 3

Who is Chambliss and what did he believe?

Answer 3

He argues that most law in the US (and the UK) is property law and this primarily protects people who own property. In his 1978 study in Seattle, he further argued that that members of the ruling class were part of a crime ‘organisation’ who used their wealth and influence to bribe officials and avoid punishment. He wrote that this included politicians and business owners.

Question 4

What did Taylor and Young’s New criminology (1976) suggest that marxists should consider when trying to establish the ‘fully social theory of deviance’?

Answer 4

▪ The structure of society and where power resides.
▪ The structural “macro” background to the deviant act.
▪ The immediate cause of the deviant act and the act itself.
▪ The impact of the act (both immediate and on a larger scale).
▪ The societal reaction to the act.
▪ The impact of that reaction (both on the individual and on society).