Marxist perspectives on crime

Question 1

Marxists suggest that society is

Answer 1

Criminogenic
meaning crime is an in-built and ‘natural’ response to capitalism

Question 2

… suggests that it is not surprising that the WC commit crime, but it’s surprising that they don’t commit more

Answer 2

Gordon

Question 3

… suggests the law is an instrument of the ruling class and reflects their interests and ideology

Answer 3

Chambliss

Question 4

… argues that serious crime is ideologically constructed (since environmental crime by big companies isn’t viewed as serious)

Answer 4

Box

Question 5

… argues that governments will only pass laws that regulated private corporations (eg health and safety laws, environmental laws) when forced to by public outcry or union agitation

Answer 5

Snider

Question 6

… suggests that there’s one law for the rich and one for the poor - selective law enforcement means upper classes less likely to be caught/prosecuted

Answer 6

Chambliss

Question 7

… argue that traditional marxist views on crime are too deterministic and choosing crime is a voluntary act (not all WC commit crime)

Answer 7

Neo-marxists

Question 8

… suggested that to truly understand crime and deviance you had to combine structural and interactionist approaches, seeking a ‘fully social theory of deviance’ blending labelling theory and marxism

Answer 8

Taylor et al (neomarxist)
The New Criminology

Question 9

… suggests crime is used to reassert ruling class hegemony eg by distracting people from societal problems
… studied the moral panic about black muggers in the 1970s and suggested it was to distract from the wider issues causing mugging

Answer 9

Hall et al
Neomarxist - The New Criminology

Question 10

The New Criminology (neomarxist) dimensions of crime and deviance to be explored

Answer 10

1. wider social origins of deviant act (context of crime eg capitalism, political crises)
2. immediate origins of deviant act (specific personal situation eg unemployment)
3. actual act and what it means to be deviant
4. immediate origins of societal reaction (how others react)
5. wider origins of societal reaction (how the system reacts eg mass media)
6. outcome of the societal reaction (eg do they reoffend)

Question 11

Criticisms of marxist and neomarxist approaches

Answer 11

1. overemphasise property crime (don’t explain rape, DV etc)
2. overemphasise class inequality (no mention of gender, ethnicity etc)
3. feminists view marxist theories as malestream
4. traditional marxist views too deterministic (ignore that people choose to commit crime and not everyone does)
5. difficult to interpret all crimes as reflecting ruling class ideology eg consumer protection laws
   6.pay very little attention to victims of crime

Question 12

suggests that the biggest crimes are the ‘crimes of the powerful’ in the form of white-collar and corporate crime, but these crimes are rarely prosecuted

Answer 12

Pearce (1976)

Question 13

Selective law enforcement gives the false impression that most crime is committed by the working class

Answer 13

and this diverts the working class’s attention away from their exploitation and the crime of the powerful

Question 14

Social exclusion definition

Answer 14

where people are excluded from full participation in education, work, community life, access to services and other aspects of life seen as part of being a full and participating member of mainstream society

Question 15

Hegemony definition - originates from Gramsci (neomarxist)

Answer 15

the dominance in society of the ruling class’s set of ideas over others and acceptance of and consent to them by the rest of society