Neo-Marxism

Question 1

What do Neo-Marxists seek to do?

Answer 1

Combine Marxism with other approaches such as labelling theory

Question 2

What approach do Neo-Marxists adopt?

Answer 2

Voluntaristic approach - they argue WC choose their behaviour - crime is deliberate

Crime is a conscious choice with a political motive e.g. rioters in London/ Anti-Capitalist marches wanting change in society

Question 3

What are the six aspects of Neo-Marxists views for a fully social theory of deviance?

Answer 3

Where did the crime originate?
1. The Wider Origins of the Deviant Act
2. The Immediate Origins of Deviant Act
3. The Act Itself

How has society reacted to this crime?
1. The Immediate Origins of Social Reaction
2. The Wider Origins of the Social Reaction
3. Effects of Labelling on the Deviant’s Future Actions

Question 4

Explain The Wider Origins of the Deviant Act

Answer 4

Crime is not something that happens because people are ‘bad’ or ‘evil’. Crime in capitalist societies is related to wider structural factors such as inequality of power

Question 5

Explain The Immediate Origins of the Deviant Act

Answer 5

The context in which the individual decides to commit a crime. Individuals are RATIONAL human beings. For a poor person, it may be rational to choose crimes that increase power

Question 6

Explain The Act Itself

Answer 6

Why did the criminal decide to commit the crime? e.g. was it a form of rebellion against capitalism?

Question 7

Explain The Immediate Origins of the Social Reaction

Answer 7

The reactions of those around the deviant e.g. police, family
Try to understand the reasons for the different forms of social response

Question 8

Explain The Wider Origins of the Social Reaction

Answer 8

In the capitalist society structure - who has the power to define actions as deviant and to label others, and why some acts are treated more harshly than others

Question 9

Explain The Effects of Labelling on the Deviant’s Future Actions

Answer 9

This process by which a deviant responds to a social reaction e.g. why does labelling lead to deviance amplification in some cases but not others

Question 10

A03 of Neo-Marxism

Answer 10

Feminists criticise Taylor et al’s approach for being gender blind, focusing mainly on male criminality