Marxist Theories of Crime

Question 1

What are the 3 traditional marxist theories on crime?

Answer 1

• crimogenic capitalism
• selective law enforcement
• law as an ISA

Question 2

According to Gordon (1976), what is crimogenic capitalism?

Answer 2

The nature of the capitalist system causes crime

Question 3

According to Gordon (1976), what are the 4 ways capitalism is crimogenic?

Answer 3

• means of survival
• encourages materialsim
• alienation
• low levels of job satisfaction

Question 4

According to Gordon (1976), how does capitalism lead to crime through means of survival?

Answer 4

Capitalism is built upon inequality in the distribution of wealth and income leading to unemployment and homelessness. The rational response is therefore to commit crime to provide for basic needs i.e. stealing

Question 5

According to Gordon (1976), how does capitalism lead to crime through the encouragement of materialistic values?

Answer 5

The ideology within capitalism encourages citizens to be greedy and compete with each other leading to financial crimes, middle class crime especially

Question 6

According to Gordon (1976), how does capitalism lead to crime through frustration with alienation?

Answer 6

Those at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder had little control over their working life leading them humiliated and bored. Leads to non-utilitarian crimes such as vandalism

Question 7

According to Gordon (1976), how does capitalism lead to crime through low levels of job satisfaction?

Answer 7

Many men work in low status roles and face a crisis of masculinity as a result of women entering the workforce. Working class men who lack authority are likely to commit crime against women such as rape

Question 8

Evaluation of Gordons (1976) view that capitalism is crimogenic?

Answer 8

• overpredict amount of crime in UK

- crime doesn’t always happen in capitalist societies

Question 9

According to Chambliss (1978), how is the law selectively enforced?

Answer 9

Notes that the law works against the working classes. The types of crime people hear about are crimes committed by w.c. such as murders. Further supported by ONS who say w.c. more likely to commit crime. Marxists are critical and think the law operates to help middle classes. Crimes by the wealthy and powerful do not get recorded or talked about.

Question 10

According to Chambliss (1978), what are the 3 reasons in why white collar crimes are not scrutinised meaning the law is selectively enforced?

Answer 10

• middle classes to retain their position (in common with judiciary)
• maintains inequality as business crime goes unrecorded
• divide and rule the working class by turning them on themselves

Question 11

According to Reiman (1979), how is the law selectively enforced?

Answer 11

Book: “The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison”. Those in the middle classes who commit white collar crime are likely to go unnoticed and are able to use loopholes to maximise gain

Question 12

Evaluation of the view that the law is selectively enforced?

Answer 12

• working class crime has more of an effect on society

- typical victims of working class crime are working class

Question 13

According to Box (1987), how does the law act as an ISA?

Answer 13

Law is an institution that reproduces, maintains and justifies inequality. Crimes that generate lots of public attention are committed by the working classes whereas those that go unnoticed are committed by powerful individuals. 
Laws that are in place benefit wealthy too, business crime are civil cases and result in financial penalties whereas working class crime is charged with criminal law i.e. prison. Criminal records reproduced inequality as people cannot get jobs.

Question 14

According to Box (1987), how does the legal system act as an ISA and make working classes think they are being cared for?

Answer 14

Giving worker rights and right to strike, join a trade union e.c.t makes people feel the state cares for this making them live in a state of false class consciousness whereby people are unaware of exploitation. Law acts as a smokescreen to keep people quiet in order to protect the power of the bourgeoise

Question 15

Evaluation of the claim that the law acts as an ISA?

Answer 15

• functionalist argue law plays a positive role

- police don’t act to protect capitalism

Question 16

What are middle class crimes?

Answer 16

White collar crimes (crimes against a business for personal gain0
Corporate crime perpetrated by businesses

Question 17

What are the 5 main reasons as to why middle class crimes are unreported?

Answer 17

• limited media coverage
• no government willpower
• extremely complicated
• de labelling of crime
• people are unaware of crime taking place

Question 18

According to Marxists, why are middle class crimes underreported (limited media coverage)?

Answer 18

When the media covers a middle class crime they tend to use the language “misseling” or “irregularities” implying they are not serious.

1) viewers aren’t likely to be interested by middle class crime therefore do not generate profit
2) media runners in same circle as criminals

Question 19

According to Marxists, why are middle class crimes underreported (government has no willpower)?

Answer 19

Those who commit crime are likely to be political donors and in positions of power. Govt and criminals often work together to provide services and can also threaten to leave country

Question 20

According to Marxists, why are middle class crimes underreported (extremely complicated)?

Answer 20

Middle class crime often involves a lot of people and a lot of businesses making it costly and annoying for police to investigate which could be spent on other crime. Judge can’t understand = no conviction

Question 21

According to Marxists, why are middle class crimes underreported (de labelling to civil cases)?

Answer 21

As a result of middle class crime being labelled as civil cases, financial compensation is usually the outcome of white collar crime meaning it is likely to get little attention

Question 22

According to Marxists, why are middle class crimes underreported (people are unaware of crime taking class)?

Answer 22

People are unaware the crime is taking place and are unaware they are the victim. For example, tax fraud, the whole of society loses out but no one feels hard done by. Scams to the elderly too, if people do not know they will not alert authority

Question 23

Evaluation of the claim that middle class crimes and underreported?

Answer 23

• there have been cases of high profile individuals

- rational decision not to find middle class offenders due to a stretched system

Question 24

What are the 5 ways in why the middle class commit more crime?

Answer 24

• they are in positions of power and trust
• middle class experience strain
• differential association
• delabbled as less severe crime
• capitalist values

Question 25

According to Carrabine et al (2014), why do middle class commit more crime due to them being in positions of trust and in power?

Answer 25

Many high status individuals work in positions of respect and power. For example, police men, teachers and those in government. Examples of police man and Sarah Everard and government, Cummings and Hancock.

Question 26

According to Box (1983), why do middle class commit more crime due to them experiences strain and relative deprivation?

Answer 26

Middle class people may reach a dip in their career making them feel disadvantaged compared to those around him. People may experience blocked opportunities therefore commit crimes such as fraud

Question 27

Evaluation of the view that strain causes the middle class to commit more crime?

Answer 27

-it is more practical to do everything by the book

Question 28

Evaluation of the view that being in a position of trust leads to the middle classes committing more crime?

Answer 28

• slim majority

- scare-mongering

Question 29

According to Sutherland (1949), why do middle class commit more crime due to them learning skills via differential association?

Answer 29

Points out that in within the financial sector there is a culture of toxic masculinity and risk taking. This behaviour is learned via socialisation. When a culture of breaking the law for gain spreads throughout staff, this is known as differential association. Tax evading, fraud leads to enterprise culture (deviant subcultures that emerge)

Question 30

Evaluation of the view that differential association leads to more crime?

Answer 30

• there are policies in place to stop this

- does this behaviour offer people long term success

Question 31

According to Nelken (2012), why do middle class commit more crime due to them being less severe?

Answer 31

Sociologists from an action perspective points out that what counts as crime depends on what is illegal. Some m.c. crimes are delablled as less severe or even counted as civil rather than criminal cases, more financial compensation than criminal actions. If a customer is injured as a premise due to inadequate would pay financially through compensation. This could lead to more offences occuring

Question 32

Evaluation of the view that crime being delabelled as less severe is a cause of more middle class crime?

Answer 32

• is financial compensation a divident? reputation e.c.t on the line
• crime can always be acknowledged

Question 33

According to Gordon and Box, why is the reason the middle class commit more crime due to capitalist values?

Answer 33

The ideology within capitalist encourages individualism, greed, envy and competition to gain the most. This heightens the potential for people to break the law. People may cut corners to achieve material success and have less support for other people (individualism)
Box notes that capitalism has created a culture of mysticism within business. This is when people do not fully understand how a business operates. Makes it easier to hide illegal practices and when a middle class crime does grab attention, the media acts like it is an anomolie?

Question 34

Evaluation of the view that the reason the middle class commit more crime is due to capitalist values?

Answer 34

• not all individuals are motivated by greed

- would overpredict the amount of crime occuring in the world