Marxist theories on crime and subcultures

Question 1

According to chambliss who makes the rules and who benefits?

Answer 1

Laws are mad e by the state and represent the view of the ruling class and benefits them , whilst exploiting the working class

Question 2

what are some contemporary laws that show this theory is still relevant ?

Answer 2

the criminalisation of squatting in UK and non-dom status

Question 3

what is a law that doesn’t benefit ruling class?

Answer 3

health and safety laws are at the benefit of w/c but a lot of the time are ignored and don’t really work

Question 4

what does Gordon suggest the cause of crime is?

Answer 4

Argues crime is a rational response to capitalism , it is found in all social classes even though official statistics blame w/c poverty- crime is inevitable for w/c

Question 5

what is a good point of Gordan?

Answer 5

takes into account multiple types of crime

Question 6

what is a critique of Gordon?

Answer 6

too deterministic (not all w/c people commit crime)

Question 7

how does althusser say certain things perform a ideological function for capitalism ?

Answer 7

media- it portrays criminals as disturbed individuals concealing the fact that capitalism makes people criminals
laws- laws are passed which create the impression that they are in the interest of the w/c

Question 8

hwo does Pearce support althusser?

Answer 8

supports that health and safety laws create a caring image from the government

Question 9

what is a critique of althusser?

Answer 9

this theory ignores the relationship between crime and non-class inequalities such as ethnicity or gender

Question 10

what criticisms of Marxisms are neo- Marxists to address?

Answer 10

traditional too deterministic

Question 11

what do neo-marxists agree with traditional Marxists about?

Answer 11

economy is an important factor in crime
capitalism is to blame for crime as it causes inequalities and that is the root of all crime
if we are to get rid of crime we must get rise of capitalism

Question 12

what does Taylor, Walter and young talk about?

Answer 12

capitalism labeling and the individual it takes into crime. A fully social theory of deviance

Question 13

how was hall et al used as an example of t,w and y research?

Answer 13

looked at the black muggers as a moral panic that created deviancy amplification due to the government needing a scapegoat and focus the publics attention on something else, blame on the label

Question 14

what are the evaluations of neo-marxists ?

Answer 14

isn’t limited in the crime itself being committed in the first place , isn’t as limited as Marxists or internationalists
nothing to do with gender/ ethnicity and crime

Question 15

what are the different types of crime?

Answer 15

utilitarian
non-utilitarian
blue collar
white collar

Question 16

how do the bcccs explain deviance?

Answer 16

they explain juvenile delinquency through rituals and symbols

Question 17

who did phil cohen study ?

Answer 17

the skinheads and they emerged as as a symbolic solution to decline in w/c communities and capitalist attempts to control w/c , also a resistance to ethnic minorities taking over their job

Question 18

what did hebdridge study?

Answer 18

studied the punks, anti-consumerism , create own style as a resistance

Question 19

who did hall and Jefferson study?

Answer 19

teddy boys resistance to capitalism, as w/c people (not done well in school) didnt think it was fair that they missed out

Question 20

what did brake say the magical illusion was?

Answer 20

that subcultures create an illusion of how an individual is different and lights up a dull dreary world, but in the end they end up like parents

Question 21

what is a critique of Marxist subcultures?

Answer 21

muggleton- argued youth cultures from60s to 70s were w/c . however hippies were seen as middle class and there are no explanation as to why these young people were deviant.

Question 22

what is another critique of Marxism in relation to ethnicity?

Answer 22

Marxists have ignored the importance of ethnicity in their study of youth subcultures , class is not the only form of inequalities in society and certain groups have formed youth cultures as a reaction to inequalities e.g. Rastafarianism