neo-marxism and crime

Question 1

Phil Cohen (1972)

Answer 1

• subcultures represent a ‘magical recreation of wc culture’- trying to reassert a lifestyle that was under threat
• skinheads were alienated from society by the destruction of older wc housing through urban developments, as well as the loss of jobs in manufacturing and heavy industry and the settlement of ethnic minorities in previously white working class areas
• skinheads resisted in a way which allowed their members to get a positive sense of identity
• they used football violence which attempted to defend their territory against threats from the outside

Question 2

Evaluation of Phil Cohen by STAN COHEN

Answer 2

• biased- wanted to prove that wc youth cultures were an attack on capitalism, so therefore they found the evidence to do so
• they used semiology, which is subjective so they only offered one of the MANY reasons
• they extracted what they needed and left out what didn’t fit w the theory

Question 3

Evaluation of Phil Cohen by Blackman

Answer 3

emphasis on wc basis of subcultural resistance ignores loads of subcultures based on sexuality, locality, age and other soc factors

Question 4

what is the main thing that neo marxists look at in crime

Answer 4

people choose to commit crime, it is a voluntary. they look at meaning and interactions as well as the structure

interactionism + marxism = neo-marxism

Question 5

similarities and differences with neo marxism to marxism (3 each)

Answer 5

simlarities
1. capitalism is exploitative and based on conflict which helps understand crime
2. selective creation and enforcement of law by the state
3. in a classless society, crime would be reduced if not removed.

differences
1. crime is meaningful/ a symbolic action of choice/free will
2. crime is politically motivated to address inequality - it is symbolic
3. criminals are not moere puppets of capitalism, they have agency

Question 6

how do neo marxists think capitalism maintains control over the majority of the population?

Answer 6

1. ideological dominance via media
2. economic pressures- people want to keep jobs and pay mortgages

• those on the margins of society arent ‘locked in’ by ideology and finance, and thus are able to provide some form of resistance to capitalism
• the hegemonic message is diluted, allowing them to be deviant/criminal

Question 7

Paul Gilroy and black criminality- “the empire strikes back” (1982)

Answer 7

• crime by young west indians is a political response to a racist society and oppression
• therefore crime of black youths isn’t due to poor socialisation or criminal subculture as media would have us believe, but it is a choice to make a political statement
• therefore, they are still in conflict with their white oppressors in modern Britain and it was part of their legacy
• they need to ‘win space’ by using criminality as a form of symbolic resistance.

Question 8

the myth of black criminality- Gilroy

Answer 8

• black youths are no more prone to crime than anyone else, but they are targeted by police, media and the state
• during the 1970s mugging scare, black youths faced harassment from police
• there were racist ‘sus laws’

Question 9

Evaluation of Gilroy

Answer 9

1. HALL- overemphasises that crime is a political struggle, if so most victims would be white and rich.
2. LEA & YOUNG- unrealistic because black youth are too far removed from colonialism for it to be such a powerful motivator
3. LEA & YOUNG- most crime is reported to the police and is not discovered BY them

Question 10

Brake

Answer 10

• resistance to ruling class oppression is expressed through working class youth subcultures
• clothes, language and music show their disdain for capitalism
• each generation expresses their frustration in different ways but are still trapped- so it is a ‘magical resistance’- an illusion that solves their problems but they continue to be exploited

Question 11

Stuart Hall- policing the crisis (1978）

Answer 11

• captialism was failing so a moral panic was created to distract society form this
• in the 70s a rise in street robbery occurred, media focused on it and it became the focus of the police
• the fear of the ‘black mugger’ became more important than the failings of capitalism
• this reassirts hegemony, justifies aggressive policing under the guise of protection, when it’s actually about squashing anti capitalist rebellion (if police are out and about on the streets)

Question 12

Evaluation of neo marxism and crime

Answer 12

• Rock (1988)- ‘Robin Hood’ figure is too ‘romantic’- crime has real victims and people suffer real harm. The wc are more likely to be victims anyway
• not all crime is political, a lot is opportunistic (eg finding a fiver on the floor)