✅Marxist Sociologists Flashcards
Capitalism and crime:
How do traditional Marxists such as Chamliss (1975) explain crime and deviance?
They tell it in terms of a capitalist economy fuelled by means of production where the proletariat are exploited by the bourgeoisie (factory owners) and industry.
This exploitation naturally leads to crime and deviance.
Capitalism and crime:
What does Quinney (1977) state?
- Law is used to oppress the working class
- The legal system and the police are weapons used by the ruling group who have the power to fight and punish the working class
Capitalism and crime:
What does Neocleous (2000) argue?
The police have been a tool of capitalism since they were first established.
There would be no profit seeking under socialism and so criminals would diminish/disappear
Capitalism and crime:
What does Snider (2005) state?
Laws are made by the minority (bourgeoisie) as most laws are about property ownership.
Capitalism and crime:
What does Box argue?
It is difficult for the poorer groups to get representation or access to law makers which benefits the bourgeoisie
Capitalism and crime:
Sum up Chambliss gang study (differential law enforcement)
Studies two groups: Saints (teenagers from a high social class with good grades etc) and Roughnecks (working class with low grades). Found Saints spent most days acting like delinquents but we’re treated sympathetically by the police/teachers/community Found Roughnecks committed the same number of delinquent acts but were labelled (SFP) as bad and were treated as such.
Capitalism causes crime:
What does Bonger argue?!
Poor people were driven to commit crime by their desperate conditions.
In a society which is very competitive (capitalism) crime will be a perfectly natural outcome
Occupational crime:
What do Ditton (1977) and Mars (1982) find?
Studies theft by employees and sound in a range of industries minor theft was regarded as a legitimate part of the job and seen as a perk or fiddle.
Mars found it was part of the rewards of a job.
Occupational crime:
What does Clarke argue? (1990)
Management generally turned a blind eye to fiddles accepting them as a part of total remuneration of the job and adjust wage structures accordingly
What does Levi (2007) state about fraud?
Check year!
Estimated direct losses from fraud to be £12.98 billion.
Fraud in NHS = £6 billion
Fraud in health and unemployment benefit claims = £3 billion
Occupational crime:
What did Barclay and Tavares (1999) discover?
Found that theft by shop and staff amounts to £350 million each year, 25% Of all retail losses
What did Levy (1987) argue about fraud?
Check year!
75% of all frauds on financial institutions such as banks and building societies were by their own employees.
Surveyed 56 companies and over 40% had experienced fraud of over £50,000 by employees that year
What did Tombs and Whyte (2007) point out?
They point out that Great Western Trains were fined £1.5 million for their role in a train crash in London in 1999, when seven people were killed and 150 injured.
This is an example of negligence
What does Karstedt and Farrell (2003) discover?
They collected reports from self report studies in England wales and Germany and found 34% of respondents in England and Wales avoid tax and 3% mis-claimed welfare benefits. In 2006 they claimed 70% of the middle class admit to fiddling compared to 52% of poorer social groups
What does Pearce (1976) argue about why white collar crimes are invisible?
Argues that laws governing corporate crime, as well as the enforcement of these laws, reflect the inequalities in power of a capitalist society. The owners of the corporations are members of the ruling class and they insure that the law and its enforcement reflects their interests.
