Neo Marxism Flashcards
What do neo Marxists and Marxists agree on?
- accept the state makers and enforces laws in the interests of capitalism
- laws are made to criminalise working class
How do Marxists and neo Marxists differ?
Neo Marxists:
- Marxists are too deterministic
- many p’s facing the same circumstances don’t commit crime
- choosing crime is voluntary
What is neo Marxists key view point?
- voluntaristic view
- w/c crimes are meaningful and symbolic political acts of resistance to bourgeoise
What is the key topic neo Marxists look at?
- the new criminology
- Taylor, Young and Walton (1973)
- influenced by Marxists and interpretivists
What did Taylor and Walton and Young argue we needed to like at to understand crime?
Wider capitalist society that is helping generate the circumstances of crime and the police response to it
What do we need to look at in terms of behaviour?
Behaviour of:
- victims
- offenders
- media
- criminal justice system
- how they interact to influence how situation develops
What did the new criminology develop?
- the fully social theory of deviance
- blends labelling theory and Marxism
- 6 dimensions
What are the 6 dimensions of the fully social theory of deviance?
- The wider origins of the deviant act
- The immediate origins of the deviant act
- The act itself
- The immediate origins of social reaction
- The wider origins of social reaction
- The effects of labelling
What is the wider origins of the deviant act?
- way in which wealth and power are distributed in society
- macro
- Marxism
What is the inaccurate origins of the deviant act?
- context in which p decided to commit crime
- micro
- interactionism
What is the act itself?
- the meaning the p attached to the act
- Micro
- interactionism
What is the immediate origins of the social reaction?
- how society reacts to the deviant app
- micro
- interactionism
What is the wider origins of the social reaction?
- the issue of who has the power to define actions as deviant and to label others
- macro
- Marxism
What is the effects of labelling?
- impact of the label on p
- micro
- interactionism
What evidence can you apply to neo Marxism?
- London’s riots over shooting of Mark Duggan
- 2011
What are the wider origins of the London riots?
- 80% of children in Tottenham lived in poverty
Rioters were asked to rank factors from most top least important as a cause of riots:
- Poverty
- Policing
- Government policy
- Unemployment
- Shooting of Mark Duggan
What was the immediate origins of the London riots?
- Mark was shot as he was a suspected drug dealer
Why are p’s upset over shooting:
- police targeting
- institutional racism
- he wasn’t armed so wasn’t a threat
How did his family react:
- peaceful protest outside station
What was the act itself, the London riots?
- aggressive protests
- young took it into their own hands
What was the immediate origins of social reaction of the riots?
BBC London’s Paraic O’Brien:
“What struck me was the small number of police officers that were actually seen to be on Brixton high street dealing with this”
- Brixton was a hot spot for looting and robbing
Used to make riots:
- water cannons
- police in riot gear
- curfews
- the army
What are the wider origins of the social reaction to the riots?
- news and police reports are contradicting
- rioters said least contributing factors was gangs
BBC blamed it on youth and gangs:
- met police:
- “this is not groups of p’s acting on behalf of their community, they’re part of organised gangs who fancy a new pair of trainers”
What are the effects of labelling on the riots?
- other parts of the country started to riot against poverty and status frustration
- looting
- 100+ arrests
- police vehicles damaged
- 35 police injured
- 3 officers hit by vehicle
What is a strength of new criminology?
- examines social structure and individual agencies at the same time
- explores economic, political and social factors
- holistic approach
- more informed
- doesn’t ignore micro or macro
What are the weaknesses with new criminology?
- pay little attention to victims
- feminists
- no changes
How does new criminology not pay attention to victims?
- romantic view of criminal
- sees many as politically motivated protesters
- can’t be used for interclass crime between w/c e.g theft
- committed utilitarian crimes for selfish reasons
How do feminists criticise the new criminology?
- gender blind theory
- focuses on male criminality
- assume theory can be applied to women
How has new criminology not made any changes?
- produced no realistic or useful policies to tackle crime or protect victim
- no positive policies
- no changes to policies
- questions what the point of the theory is
What policy did David Cameron introduce after the riots?
The big society
What is wrong with the big family policy?
- anti welfare dependency
- didn’t word
- aimed to teach families how to raise their kids
- targeted lone parents and w/c
