Neo Marxism

Question 1

What is the Neo-Marxist perspective on crime

Answer 1

Neo marxists argue :

. Classical marxism is too deterministic in its explanation of crime

. That people choose to commit crime - it’s a voluntary act - disregard cohens status frustration / Mertons strain theory

. Neo-Marxism looks at the meaning and its interactions of crime as well as the structure

Question 2

How do Neo-Marxist views of crime relate to classical marxist views on crime ?

Answer 2

Both Neo-Marxists and marxists agree on :

. Capitalism is exploitative and based on conflict and you need to understand this to understand crime

. Selective creation and enforcement of law by state

. A classless society = reduced rates of crime

Question 3

How does Neo-Marxism differ from Marxisms view on crime ?

Question 4

What does Neo-Marxist Brake argue ?

Answer 4

That Resistance to ruling class oppression is expressed through working class youth subcultures - their clothes, language and music show their disdain of capitalist society

. Each generation expresses their hatred in different ways but are all still trapped - just like their parents

Question 5

Neo-Marxist Hall identified policing the crisis what is it ?

Answer 5

The idea that capitalism was failing and so a moral panic was created to distract society from this

. in 1970s a rise in street robbery and mugging occurred - the media focused on this and it became the focus of the police

. The fear of the ’black mugger’ became more important than that of the failings of capitalism - leading them to be labelled as ’folk devils’

. Halls suggests the demonising of the ’black mugger’ was designed to reassert hegemony and used to justify more aggressive policing under the guise of ’protecting society from the black mugger’ but instead enabled police to stamp out anti-capitalist protest and industrial strikes

Question 6

What does Gilroy identify ?

Answer 6

Argues that crime by young west Indians is a political response to a racist society and oppression - therefore crime by black youths is not due to poor socialisation or criminal subcultures as the media would have us believe

. Black youth are in conflict with their white oppressors in modern Britain - They feel they need to win space and to overcome the pains of racism in life - done though symbolic resistance

. Symbolic resistance = fighting back - rebellion and deviance

Question 7

What does Gilroy also identify ?

Answer 7

The myth of black criminality:
- Gilroy claims that black youths are also no more prone to committing crime than anybody else

. During the ’mugging scare’ in the 1970s - black youths faced harassment from the police through racist ’sus laws’ - this is seen even in 2020 disappointed stop and search figures