Marxist View On Crime And Deviance

Question 1

What do they believe

Answer 1

• capitalist society is based on values such as materialism, consumerism, and competition between individuals to obtain these products.
• in an unequal society, not everyone can afford the products of capitalism and some people will try to get material goods through any means possible, including illegal means

Question 2

Marxist views on law enforcement

Answer 2

• Marxists are critical of the laws in a capitalist society. Criminal law is made by, and in the interests of, the bourgeoisie and many laws
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  protect private property.
  Agencies of social control such as the police and courts operate in the interests of the powerful bourgeoisie and against the proletariat.
  • Certain types of crime are likely to be targeted - street crime, for example, rather than white-collar crime.
  Certain groups such as black people and working-class people are more likely to be targeted, while crimes committed by the bourgeoisie may often go undetected or unpunished.

Question 3

Criticism of Marxism

Answer 3

• Not every criminal law supports the interests of the dominant class.
• Functionalists argue that society is based on value consensus rather than on conflict.
  • Some feminists argue that Marxist approaches ignore issues of gender in patriarchal society.